The opinions expressed in this article are the writer’s own and do not reflect the views of Her Campus.
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at UCF chapter.
Addison Rae’s new song “High Fashion” has captured the attention of many, solidifying her position as one of the beloved up-and-coming pop stars of Gen Z.
Since Rae’s viral scream on Charli XCX’s Brat single “Von dutch a. g. cook remix featuring addison rae,” she has come out with a Billboard Hot 100 song, “Diet Pepsi.” With the internet eager for another hit, Rae has come back into the spotlight, full-throttle. Her new song, “High Fashion,” is a statement to all that this is her rebrand, and she’s here to stay.
From receiving overwhelming disses for her new movie He’s All That to becoming a meme from The Kid LAROI’s song “Addison Rae,“ Rae had a difficult start in her career. Furthermore, when she was featured in a Genius video reading the lyrics, people took a snippet of the video and turned it into a meme.
I can’t speak for everyone when I say this, but for the longest time, all I heard was the viral line “I need a bad bleep, uh, Addison Rae.” (She inserted the bleep there herself, the censored word was ‘b*tch.’)
Rae not only had to rise from this but also rebrand herself from a “TikTok influencer” to a “pop culture icon.” Rae rose to fame from TikTok and amassed 88.5 million followers, which came with online scrutiny when she tried to branch out of her TikTok bubble. Critics and app users alike wrote her off as a “TikTok dancer” and nothing more.
The “High Fashion” music video has to be one of her most experimental visuals yet, with striking costumes and beautiful modern dance. The two outfits most talked about are the red pumps that she clicks in her video, a homage to The Wizard of Oz, and her Britney Spears-esque bra and jeans, even dawning the iconic wet hair look in her video.
Filmed in her home state of Louisiana, her song is provocative and celebrates the love of style and fashion. Her lyric “I don’t need your drugs / I’d rather get, rather get high fashion” chooses fashion as her vice in an industry full of sex and drugs, making a wonderful message about how fashion can make one feel more empowered and seen. She sings, “I don’t want cheap love / I’d rather get high fashion,” tossing out the aspects of the menial things in life, like cheap dates or unfulfilling relationships, and instead choosing the lavish lifestyle.
Rae is refreshing, and she’s slowly becoming an iconic 2000s-esque performer.