Fun, cheeky, delightfully shocking at times, Addison Rae’s “High Fashion” offers a cohesive look into her artistic ‘rebrand’ with a lyrical focus on luxury.
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Addison Rae began her transition from social media content creator to pop star in 2021 with the release of her first single, “Obsessed.”
Two years later, she released her first EP, AR – a fun, albeit slightly forgettable, collection of tracks, even acquiring Charli XCX as a feature on the project. While her EP didn’t necessarily gain the attention of the masses, her feature on Charli XCX’s deluxe of Brat and two singles from 2024 (“Diet Pepsi & “Aquamarine”) garnered almost 400 million streams on Spotify alone, coming close to solidifying her spot in the pop zeitgeist.
Addison Rae wouldn’t be the first artist to make this switch from influencer to musical artist. Take a look at the likes of musicians like Troye Sivan and Shawn Mendes; creatives have successfully made the jump after fighting against backlash from the broader public not necessarily taking an influencer’s debut into music seriously.
Rae’s rebrand from TikTok sensation to sultry pop girl was catapulted by “Diet Pepsi and “Aquamarine” thanks to their incredibly addicting choruses, production that is both modern and nostalgic, and embodying a vibe that is both ethereal and playful. With the recent release of her new single, “High Fashion,” Rae seems to be gearing listeners up for a bigger project this year, even if the recent single isn’t nearly as catchy and alluring as her past two releases.
Have you ever dreamt of being seen? Ah-ah
Not by someone, more like in a magazine
Might be something more than just a hit? Ah-ah
Nothin’ else can make me feel like this
Lyrically, Rae leans into themes of glamour, wealth, and luxury on this track, a hedonistic trend in pop music that is making a comeback from the kind of music we saw during late 2000s and early 2010s. The lyrics are fun, cheeky, and even delightfully shocking at times (take “With a cigarette pursed between my tits / You know I’m not an easy fuck / But when it comes to shoes, I’ll be a slut,” for instance).
Where the track pales in comparison to her most recent releases is in terms of the production. While it’s by no means unlistenable, it is certainly far less interesting and bouncy compared to the layered melodies on “Aquamarine,” or the number of directions she heads in sonically on “Diet Pepsi.” With a mid-tempo beat and low synths coming in and out, “High Fashion” leaves something to be desired in terms of energy. Not every pop song needs to be infused with a vigor that gets the heart racing and body moving, but a precedent was set in Rae’s admittedly limited discography.
Where Rae continues to excel in her re-brand is with her visuals. The “High Fashion” music video has everything you would expect it to have: Y2K imagery, Rae parsing through a luxury closet, dancing among fields covered in flames that juxtapose the recklessness that pop music is collectively embracing these days. While the music video for “Aquamarine” only served to make an already great song even more compelling, the music video for “High Fashion” feels more so like the focal point of the release rather than the actual track itself – or at least, it has more of an impact than the song alone.
I know I’m drunk, but
I don’t need your drugs
I’d rather get, rather get high fashion
I don’t want cheap love (love)
I’d rather get high fashion
While “High Fashion” may not the strongest release from Rae, fans and new listeners alike should still keep an eye on her in 2025.
If this track is meant to be a slower moment on a collective album of pieces that have the vitality of her prior releases, then Rae assuredly will take another seat among the pop girls revolutionizing the genre.
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