'Pop girlies' of 2024 style

Taylor Swift, Charli XCX and more made waves not just with their music, but also their distinct aesthetics

- Yamini Chinnuswamy

In February, British singer-songwriter Charli XCX took to her Instagram account to announce that her sixth studio album would be released in the summer.

The image she used was a square coloured in an off-putting shade of neon yellow-green, with the word "brat" in a sans serif, lower-case and seemingly low-resolution font stamped across it.

Fans and pundits were excited about new music from the 32-year-old artiste, whose real name is Charlotte Aitchison, but were bemused by the accompanying image, ostensibly the album's cover.

Local radio deejay Joshua Simon, who has been a fan since Charli XCX's debut album True Romance (2013), remembers how he was in disbelief. "I thought it was a joke or a marketing gimmick," recalls Simon, who hosts the evening drive-time show on radio station Kiss92.

But after the album Brat dropped in June, it became clear that that cover was a visual representation of the music, and the ethos it seemed to espouse.

Simon says: "Charli always seemed to have this dissonance within herself, about whether she's meant to be a pop star or someone who is more aligned with rave culture. But with Brat, we see her saying, 'Forget it. I'm just going to do what I feel comfortable with.'"

For Charli XCX, that meant being messy, forthright and nonchalant about the idea of societal norms. As she explained during an interview with the BBC: "(Brat) can go the way of quiet luxury, but it can also be trashy... a strappy white top with no bra, that's kind of all you need."

Simon adds: "Especially in Asia, there has been so much influence from K-pop, where everything is highly manufactured and polished. People were just attracted to the idea of being a bit unkempt and chaotic, as embodied by 'brat'. That's why we're seeing people embracing oversized clothes, mismatched prints - maybe letting a pimple show once in a while."