Addison Rae may have started her film career as the English dub for Marnie Sunshine in the 2020 German-language animation Spy Cat (this is unfortunately true) – but she’s come a long way since then. In the last five years, Rae’s cinephile credentials have increased exponentially, thanks to her dalliances with auteur aesthetics. For singles “Diet Pepsi” and “Aquamarine”, the singer collaborated with acclaimed director Sean Price Williams for some star-making music videos. “Headphones On” saw Rae pluck a scene straight from deep cut romcom Career Opportunities, where Jennifer Connelly climbs on a horse kiddie ride in Target. Meanwhile, the “Fame is a Gun” music video directly cribs from the aesthetics of David Lynch (read: hot women being weird.)
Last night at The Box in London, Rae continued her deep dive into cult film, ascending the stage in full Spring Breakers cosplay. Wearing a bright yellow bra and panties, the singer was a dead ringer for Vanessa, Selena, et al from the Harmony Korine movie, and was also flanked by dancers in their own jewel-hued underwear. Featuring a selection of archive and new season ‘Molly’ sets from Agent Provocateur, Rae’s styling once again drew a direct line between her aesthetics and another celebrated work – a method that she’s put to effective use during the Addison press run. With her current aesthetic, the singer presents herself as a student of popular culture, mining nostalgia without being too heavy-handed. The aforementioned allusions to film – plus styling that references 2010s American Apparel and VMAs Britney Spears – are all carefully crafted ways to reintroduce Rae as a mysterious cult figure (not a TikTok dancer). This last reference to Spring Breakers is part of that approach.
At the secret-but-not-so-secret set at The Box, Rae ran through hits “Diet Pepsi”, “Aquamarine” and “Headphones On” from her new self-titled album (which we ranked from top to bottom here), plus more recent singles like “Fame is a Gun” and standout album tracks such as “Summer Forever”. The crowd was predictably wild, with many fans screaming every single word, even though the record has been out for less than a week. It seems like her auteur-assisted ascension to cult status is in full swing.
Scroll through the gallery above for all of Addison Rae’s best looks