Addison Rae Transcends Cringe

There is one video that serves as the ultimate relic of post-pandemic, extremely-online pop culture. It’s a paparazzi clip from 2021 of Addison Rae, propping up her phone on an L.A. sidewalk and preparing to film a TikTok for her audience of millions. As she goes to hit record, she’s approached by a group of followers who ask her for a picture. “Of course!” she replies—just after she films her TikTok. The fans shuffle out of the frame, looking on awkwardly as a skinny-jeans-clad Rae dances to her camera, emphatically mouthing lyrics in silence.

To this day, the now-viral encounter is hard to watch: it feels invasive to witness the behind-the-scenes mechanics of Addison Rae’s early-days TikTok presence. Her posts were unrelenting in their peppiness; she’s since said she made about 10 a day. But as Rae has evolved, this interaction has become priceless. To cultural critic Akili Moree, it’s a metaphor of her pop ascension: her commitment to chasing her dreams out in the open, regardless of how uncool it is. With the release of her album Addison on June 6, it’s clear how she has turned this cringeworthy enthusiasm into high-art greatness. Below, a full rundown of the Addison Rae style evolution.

2020

After joining TikTok in 2019 and moving to L.A. from Louisiana in 2020, Rae wore algorithmically-informed outfits that spoke to the era, like cargo pants, crop tops and chunky shoes. She was often seen with Kourtney Kardashian around this time, wearing outfits that coordinated with her more-famous reality star friend.

2021

With some time in L.A. under her belt, she began leaning into the cheeky side of celebrity street style, wearing graphic tees reminiscent of Britney Spears in the aughts. This was the year that Rae began putting out music, with her fashion seeing a shift from TikTok teen to emerging artist. She was styled by Law Roach for the first time at the MTV Movie & TV Awards, wearing an itty-bitty tube top, column skirt and chain-link belt over her bare skin.

2022-2023

Further separating herself from her TikTok presence, she began peppering delightful randomness into her everyday outfits. She was often pictured walking around in Los Angeles with some warped take on athleisure—as if she had a growing urge to vex onlookers. Think: a black bra and a fuzzy pink hat with a lollipop as an accessory.

Red-carpet-wise, her looks became more grown-up and curated, like the sheer lace-up she wore to the Annual Academy Museum Gala in 2023.

2024

Releasing singles for the Addison Rae album Addison and carving out her music niche, her red carpet references during this time became clearer. She stepped out in a shirt that read “Lady Fucking Gaga” and, at the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards, she referenced Madonna’s love for the Jean Paul Gaultier cone-bra silhouette.

The more famous she’s gotten, the stranger her outfits have become, wearing tutus and sheer underwear-revealing tights for street style outings.

2025

These days, Addison Rae’s “cringe” style has come full circle. She’s worked with fashion-industry icons like photographer Petra Collins, makeup artist Pat McGrath and Interview Magazine editor Mel Ottenberg. All her creative choices—no matter how odd—appear in service of her art.

This aesthetic final form is on full display on the new Addison Rae album. For the music video “Headphones On,” she gallivants around Iceland with her hair dyed a jarring shade of bright pink. In “Fame is a Gun,” she stumbles about in a flimsy latex trench and a plasticky blonde wig.

Her street style no longer appears inspired by the algorithm, but rather feels like a cocktail of pop nostalgia and Rae’s own singular strangeness. There’s a sense of intention in every statement had and bizarro selfie.

Addison Rae has never hidden or downplayed her ambition, even when that involved high-intensity sidewalk choreography in front of Urth Caffé. “Taste is a luxury,” Rae said in a recent interview with The New York Times, reflecting on how her culturally low-brow start (dancing to trending TikTok songs) was her ticket to stardom.

Above all, Addison Rae has mastered the art of don’t-care-what-others-think effort. A recent selfie shows her wearing a lace-up mini skirt, a ratty tank and a bright blue bra popping through. The caption: “I feel beautiful.”