August Unwrapped: Brat Summer, Demure, and the Paris 2024 Olympics
Last month was a rollercoaster of global events, wild weather patterns, and trends that came and went in the blink of an eye. What effect did it have on the market? Well, you needn’t look further than Metis to learn the answer to that question.
Here’s a look back on August—the search trends, the social media phenomena, and the cultural moments that drove them.
<Charli XCX & Brat Summer>
Brat, the 6th studio album by Charli XCX, took the world by storm—especially Gen Z superconsumers, who embraced the album and its unapologetic ‘party-girl’ aesthetic as a stylistic and ideological icon for the summer of ’24. To give you an idea of the gravity of this trend, Guess (a bonus track from the deluxe album) amassed 25.1 million views on YouTube within a month. It permeated retail, fashion, beauty, and even vernacular. Here are the search trends we observed following the phenomenon:
- Lime Green Top: +65% YoY
- Denim Shorts: +48% YoY
- Mini Dress: +31% YoY
- Green Bag: +9% YoY
- Lace Dress: +6% YoY
(Very Demure, Very Mindful)
Just as Brat Summer reached its peak, an entirely different craze emerged, sparked by a single TikTok video. American content creator Jools Lebron’s clip, calling in jest for her generation to present themselves as more ‘demure and mindful,’ took the internet by storm, triggering a surge of new search trends:
- Maxi Dresses: +7% YoY
- Vanilla Perfume: +79% YoY
- Lipgloss: +8% YoY
- Floral Dress: +13% YoY
- Corset Dress: +19% YoY
Despite the rise in August, the “death of demure” is already here—we’re seeing related search terms spiral in Metis. Its supplantation of Brat and subsequent decline serves as a perfect case study of how quickly online trends shift, highlighting the need to stay fast and first to the party. That’s why our mission continues to be delivering market data weekly, as well as monthly.
[Paris Olympics 2024]
As ever, the Olympic Games captivated the world as it drew to a close on 11th August. Search demand revealed people were inspired by both familiar and newly discovered sports. Here’s the effect it had on search:
- Jack Draper: +459% YoY
- LeBron James: +134% YoY
- Sports Bra: +8% YoY
- Running Trainers: +23% YoY
- Cycling Shorts: +7% YoY
<How we use these insights to drive performance for our clients 4x faster>
These are the trends we saw in August. They’re insightful today, but in a market where trends shift in the blink of an eye, real-time weekly data is essential for staying ahead of the curve. That’s why we built Metis—to help our clients react to search trends 4x faster, optimise SEO, and maximise revenue. We deliver insights tailored to our clients’ businesses and help them activate on the trends at the speed of the market to realise industry-leading gains. Now, with AI, it’s endlessly smarter. Reach out to learn more about how our flagship software is unlocking a world of opportunities for the UK’s top companies.
