You’ve seen the neon green. You've heard the synth-heavy, distorted bass thumping from a passing car. But if you really want to understand how Charlotte Aitchison—better known as Charli XCX—managed to hijack the entire cultural zeitgeist in 2024 and 2025, you have to look at the Charli XCX 360 music video. It wasn't just a promo for a song. Honestly, it was a mission statement.
Directed by Aidan Zamiri, the video is basically a roll call for the "chronically online." It starts with a skit that feels like a fever dream of a West Hollywood dinner party. A group of girls—the kind of girls who define what’s "cool" before the rest of us even wake up—are sitting around trying to "fulfill the prophecy" of finding a new "hot internet girl."
They eventually settle on their waiter, played by @randomcontrol (Niki Takesh). It’s meta. It’s messy. It’s exactly what the Brat era was all about.
The "It Girl" Council and That Wild Cameo List
Most music videos hire models to look pretty in the background. Charli didn't do that. She called every person who has ever trended on a "finsta" or starred in an indie sleeper hit. The Charli XCX 360 music video is basically the Avengers of niche internet fame.
Think about the table. You’ve got Julia Fox, the woman who basically invented the "uncut gems" meme and became a DIY fashion icon. Then there’s Rachel Sennott, who’s been killing it in movies like Bottoms and Bodies Bodies Bodies.
The advice they give the new girl is peak internet humor. Gabbriette, the model and former lead singer of Nasty Cherry (a band Charli actually started), tells the waiter that being a hot internet girl is about being "really hot, in like a scary way." Richie Shazam adds that you have to be "known, but at the same time, unknowable."
It sounds like nonsense, but if you spend more than ten minutes on TikTok, you know exactly what they mean. It’s about that je ne sais quoi that makes people obsess over a blurry paparazzi photo.
Who Else Is in the 360 Video?
If you blinked, you probably missed five people. Here’s a quick rundown of the heavy hitters:
- Chloë Sevigny: The literal "Original It Girl." Her appearing at the end, stepping out of a sports car with a cigarette, felt like a passing of the torch.
- Emma Chamberlain: The YouTube legend who transitioned into high fashion.
- Alex Consani: The Gen Z model who has basically taken over every runway in the last two years.
- Hari Nef: The Barbie star and model who brings a high-art edge to everything she touches.
- Quenlin Blackwell: A social media powerhouse who represents the chaotic, hilarious side of the internet.
- A. G. Cook: Charli’s long-time producer and the architect of the hyperpop sound.
Why 360 Is More Than Just a "Cool" Video
A lot of people think Brat was just about partying. That's a mistake. The Charli XCX 360 music video specifically highlights the tension between being a public figure and a real person.
The lyrics "I'm your favorite reference, baby" aren't just a flex. They’re a reminder that Charli has been influencing pop music from the shadows for over a decade. Whether she was writing "I Love It" or "Fancy," she’s always been the blueprint.
In the video, the scenes are intentionally disjointed. One minute she’s in a hospital with Alex Consani, the next she’s in a gym with Julia Fox drinking wine. It mimics the way we consume content now: fast, fragmented, and slightly surreal.
The Aesthetic of "Ugliness"
The video doesn't look like a polished, $10 million Taylor Swift production. It looks a bit raw. There’s a scene where Emma Chamberlain is involved in a car pile-up and just keeps posing. It’s poking fun at the idea that for an "Internet Girlie," the photo is more important than the actual disaster happening around her.
This "low-fi" but high-concept approach is what made the Brat rollout so successful. It felt accessible. It felt like something you and your friends could recreate with an iPhone and a lime-green filter.
The Cultural Impact: From TikTok to the White House
We can't talk about the Charli XCX 360 music video without mentioning what happened next. The "360" dance and the general "Brat" aesthetic became a global phenomenon.
By the summer of 2024, everything was green. Even the Kamala Harris campaign leaned into the "Brat" meme after Charli tweeted "Kamala IS brat." It was a masterclass in organic marketing. Charli didn't pay for these endorsements; she created a world that was so fun and specific that people wanted to join it.
But let’s be real. Not everyone loved it. Some critics felt the video was too "inside baseball"—that if you didn't know who Gabbriette was, the whole thing felt like a private joke you weren't invited to.
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Honestly? That’s probably the point. Charli has always thrived in that space between the underground and the mainstream. She’s not trying to be everything to everyone. She’s trying to be everything to the people who get it.
How to Capture the 360 Energy Today
If you're a creator or just someone who wants to understand why this worked, the lesson isn't "wear green." It's about community.
Charli didn't just make a video; she curated a scene. She took people she actually likes—her friends, her collaborators, her muses—and put them in a room.
The next time you're looking at the Charli XCX 360 music video, pay attention to the credits. It’s a network of creatives who have been working together for years. That's the secret sauce. It’s not about being the biggest star in the world; it’s about being at the center of the most interesting room in the world.
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Your 360-Style Action Plan
- Stop Over-Editing: The 360 video works because it feels a little bit "off." Don't be afraid of a little mess.
- Collaborate Up and Down: Charli worked with legends like Chloë Sevigny and rising TikTokers at the same time.
- Create a Visual Signature: Find your "Brat Green." It doesn't have to be a color; it can be a specific way you edit or a recurring "easter egg" in your work.
- Trust Your Audience: You don't need to explain every reference. The "if you know, you know" energy is what builds a cult following.
The Charli XCX 360 music video remains a high-water mark for pop culture because it didn't try to be "timeless." It tried to be right now. And in doing so, it became the only thing anyone will remember about the mid-2020s.
To really get the full experience, go back and watch the video again, but this time, look at the background details—the way the "It Girls" interact when they aren't the focus. It’s a masterclass in world-building that most filmmakers would kill for.
Go watch the 360 remix video featuring Robyn and Yung Lean next to see how the "Mother Cinematic Universe" expanded even further.