I already railed about this on TikTok but it bears repeating: the VMAs red carpet was a snooze fest—in large part because it looked more like a reenactment of a VMAs red carpet from the 90s/2000s. I enjoy vintage Bob Mackie as much as the next girl, but this show is a chance for pop stars to take a risk, to cement their status as cultural figureheads—not to do an uninspired imitation of an actual icon in the hopes of leeching some of that legacy for themselves. In a day and age where everybody’s famous, stars are trying to harken back to the real fame of yesteryear…only to wind up looking like fans at a cosplay convention.
But then along came Addison Rae. And I’ll say it—I gasped.
In the fashion crossover of the century, Addison was styled by Dara in a custom-made Miss Claire Sullivan piece.1 I mean, the granny panties! The peep toe! And of course, those breasts. Finally, some good fuckin’ food. Addison doesn’t need to steal someone else’s look to be a star; she can make this carpet her own while respectfully shouting out her predecessors like Madonna and the Ziegfeld Follies2 showgirls. Or at least, those are the references I caught; Dara is refusing to cite her sources. To which I say: good. Open the libraries! Make children do their own goddamn research!
Of course, the Internet predictably exploded in disgust over Addison’s outfit: it looks like she’s getting a mammogram, that rise is unflattering, blah blah blah. Some accused her of rage-baiting, in the same vein of Kim Kardashian destroying Marilyn Monroe’s dress while walking the Met steps.
But to them I say, you simply do not get it. Addison is tapping into something much deeper, something that straight up breaks the algorithm: the kind of human ugliness an AI could never replicate. As her stylist said:
“It’s only sexy if it’s freaky” — Dara
A quote which is also basically the premise of Miuccia Prada’s entire career. As I <3 Mess wisely pointed out, the Claire Sullivan piece is in conversation with folks like Michaela Stark, designers who understand that in an age of Ozempic and body optimization, the most scandalous thing of all isn’t a stray nipple or pubic hair, but a body that rejects conformity.
Addison’s appearance naturally hews to most societal beauty standards; she’s got the kind of face that would be best-suited for a reboot of like, Dukes of Hazard (and BTW it would be brilliant for Addison to turn her scream queen efforts towards a modern, edgy Dukes reboot). That’s why it takes a big lift to make her into anything besides a Pottery Barn model.
Hence the genius of totally deforming Addison’s breasts into an (in heavy quotation marks) ““ugly”” shape—at a time when we scrutinize stars’ every pound and wrinkle, it is daring to be imperfect3. And it catches algorithmic fire more than an archival pull ever will because the texture of AI-blasted skin tends towards smooth and almost horrifically youthful…so warped, real flesh stands out on the FYP. Addison is doing as much body-mod-ing as anyone else on the carpet, but she’s doing it against beauty, which flies in the face of all AI prioritizes. And the impermanence of her shape-shifting means she can morph with the trend cycle, making her a master of the machine (and not vice versa).
As a thought experiment, I typed “Addison Rae VMAs outfit 2024” into Midjourney. This is what it produced:
Yikes! What jumps out to me about these photos is that, while technically connected to what Addison wore (a bra and panty set), the imagined alternatives are overtly, predictably sexual, while hers took traditionally sexy garments and made them almost monstrous. Sean Monahan’s recent piece on the nostalgic textures of AI got me thinking that Addison’s anti-AI outfit is what makes it feel so futuristic and genuinely modern.
In a way, the outfit choice is also self-referential: it reminds us that Addison got here by knowing how to go viral, and she still knows how to do it. This is a woman whose star power lies in her manipulation of the algorithm.
Speaking of humanness as algorithmic rocket fuel: mark my words, in the next few years, social media stars will realize the power of not touching their faces. When everyone’s content is run through built-in beauty filters, being visually distinct will help someone stand out from the crowd. And one more prediction based on what I’m seeing/hearing on the streets. I know the popular discourse is crowing that “thin is in” (and this is not to discount the very real discrimination that plus size people face on a daily basis). But I can promise you the actual cool kids are past that skinny shit. Thinness is now just another thing that anyone can buy.
You know what you can’t buy? Personality. Taste. Vibes. That’s what Addison Rae gets—your body is not the most interesting thing about you. It’s what you choose to do with it that counts.
And now that we’ve finished that little dissertation, it’s time for my grand reveal (that people who follow me on IG already know)—
I’m in a fashion campaign??
Those of you who’ve read my Substack for a while will know I’ve been hinting at this one for ages. Remember how I said I befriended Asia Grant on a top-secret project? Or when I talked about meeting (and getting great pants-related wisdom) from Jalil Johnson? Or how I had an inside scoop on the iconic Michelle Stein’s closet sale?
Well, secret’s out: it’s because I starred alongside all of these greats (and more) in TheRealReal’s latest campaign. So far only my BTS interview has been released but I think you’ll be seeing more of me to come…
It was a phenomenal experience—everyone on set was lovely and talented and made me feel comfortable in a very foreign environment. When I started randomly doing this social media thing as a hobby, I did not think it would end with me in New York on a professional set wearing about $5000 worth of designer clothing. But hey, here we are.
In honor of the campaign’s release, here are some of my favorite pieces currently available on TRR. The stuff below is a thank you for paid subscribers—of which there are suddenly many?? You guys rock. But if you’re not a paid subscriber (I still appreciate you very much!), here are the $100 and under pieces I picked out on TRR recently for a TikTok. Quite a few have already sold, but I’ve tried to re-organize the shelf so that items still avail prior to this email blast are close to the top.
TRR Picks
First up, a slew of neutral basics that still pack a punch.
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