Sullivan — of Miss Claire Sullivan — also dressed Rae for this year’s MTV VMAs, after stylist Allen reached out via Instagram DM, to much chatter online. Sullivan recalls an editor friend running up to her at a fellow designer’s presentation after the look went live to ask if she had designed Rae’s ceremony fit. “I sort of knew in that moment that it was going to blow up way more than I had anticipated,” she says. The look generated $927,000 in media impact value (or MIV, which calculates the monetary value of posts, article mentions and social media interactions) in the first week, per Launchmetrics — Rae’s highest weekly MIV to date.
“My phone was blowing up for two days,” says Sullivan, who also saw her followers jump. “I was steadily climbing already, but she put me over the 10,000 mark for sure,” she says. “The best bit was seeing people dress up as her in the look for Halloween.”
Clearly, Rae has the star power to generate followers — and sales. (Sullivan helms a custom couture house, but will make iterations if someone is inspired to buy it, she says.) It’s not just emerging and independent designers basking in Rae’s shine. She also does numbers for the luxury labels she dons. Her Thom Browne look at October’s CFDA Awards generated $875,000 in MIV, while her vintage Alberta Ferretti gown at the 2024 Academy Museum Gala generated $276,000, according to Launchmetrics. As Rae cements her place in pop stardom, these numbers are only set to climb.
Bridging aesthetics — and audiences
What Shires calls “normal-hot” is trending, which bodes well for Rae’s ascent. Normal-hot is the essence of a crush you would have in real life, he explains. And it’s a look that’s replicable; Rae is papped as often in Lululemon zip-ups and Alo shorts as she is in vintage designer pieces. “As normal-hot becomes a new infatuation, with Abercrombie and prep looks back on the runway, she couldn’t have come at a better time,” he says. “Addison delivers fashion looks that are aspirational to the normal girl.”
Rae’s ability to toe the line between normalcy and stardom is what hits. For designers, it makes her fun to work with. “She has this relatability but she still provides a fantasy,” Sullivan says. “I love that she’s so willing to just take it all the way there. That energy is my dream client to work with honestly.”
