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Bringing BRAT to life: We meet the designers behind Charli XCX’s victory lap tour

Pabio December 1, 2024

It was nominated as Word of the Year by Collins Dictionary and broadcast on the USApresidential social media feeds and Spotify playlists, and became the nickname of an entire summer. Charli XCX’s “Brat” was just nominated for seven Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year, and she’s now taking it to arenas around the world. A BRAT tour concert feels like a St. Patrick’s Day spin-off: green clothing and imagery seems obligatory. The show is playful but serious; huge curtains covering the stage display the words “BRAT” or “PARTY”, conveying a sense of minimalism and authority that captivates the entire arena. It’s also sweaty, dance-inducing, and fun. The high-energy performance is channeled through Charli’s unstoppable charisma and stage presence.

Alongside Charli, creative director Imogene Strauss and production design studio Cour Design have worked on her tours for the past several years, creating and evolving a stage that matches her unique personality and energy. Nashville-based Cour Design is a production design firm known for collaborating with some of today’s hottest artists, including Billie Eilish, Clairo and Caroline Polachek. They are committed to delivering creative and ambitious solutions across a wide range of practices, from lighting and set design to animations, IMAG, and much more.

We spoke to Jonny Kingsbury from Cour Design to find out more about the work and ideas behind the BRAT tour production.

“We’re not trying to make it a shiny pop show, and we’re not trying to hide the cables and the lights,” says Jonny Kingsbury. Instead, the “Brat” tour embraces a raw, grunge and industrial aesthetic while maintaining theatrical sophistication. Charli XCX takes center stage, interacting seamlessly with the stripped-down elements of a massive set. The hard aluminum pipes and tubes, along with the lights and bulky metal cages beneath the stage podium, engage in a meticulously choreographed dance with it, creating a dynamic visual spectacle.

When asked about Charli Imogene Strauss, Charli has a clear view of her performances Billboard-style screens display real-time footage of her dancing and singing, moving quickly on, behind and under the stage. immerses the audience in something like a live music video experience, allowing them to follow their every move. The performance reaches its climax during “Track 10,” where an ecstatic moment of rain cascading from the stage ceiling sums it up. the iconic and surreal essence of the global pop star.

Images from the Charli XCX BRAT tour

(Image credit: Henry Redcliffe)

Jonny highlights one of his favorite moments from the show: “We had a giant curtain that came down, displaying the word ‘Party’ in big letters across the stage. We also drop an LED rope from the ceiling to the terrace, which sends dynamic light signals downward. This element underlines the series’ strong sense of minimalism, cleverly putting Charli as the focal point. Despite the thousands of spectators and the venue’s elaborate lighting systems, a conscious choice was made to incorporate only the LED rope, with which Charli energetically pulls and interacts throughout the track “Party for You.” This minimalist approach not only highlights his magnetic stage presence, but also allows him to control the space effortlessly.

Instead of using the usual gimmicks of big arenas, Cour Design was able to convey an innovative pop star experience for Charli XCX’s “Brat” tour. The stage features a fresh, sleek look, using “only white lighting for about 95% of the show.” By cleverly moving away from common arena tropes, such as smoke effects during drops or the color theming of each song, Cour Design managed to create a complex, minimal and authoritative performance design. They literally bent the stage infrastructure to create the perfect space for a “Brat” experience.

Images from Charli XCX's BRAT tour