Meet Club Cosmo’s 2024 Honorees

Aaron Rose isn’t new to trailblazing. Since she started professionally modeling at 17, she has become the first Black, trans, and disabled person to be signed to a major modeling agency and the first model to hit the runway for a mainstream luxury fashion label in a wheelchair [Editor’s note: she ate]. “My existence itself is often considered as a new idea within many different contexts and spaces, which makes me innately very special,” she says. But the push for progress doesn’t end when one person gets through the door, and Aaron Rose is conscious of that, regularly highlighting issues that impact the Black trans community and disabled people across the globe.

It takes one quick pass at the “Avantika” TikTok search results to realize that the actor holds the masses in the palm of her hand. If it’s not the thousands of fan edits celebrating her scene-stealing performances in Mean Girls: The Musical, The Sex Lives of College Girls, and Tarot, it’s the montages dedicated to her impactful interviews and can’t-miss red carpet looks. But Avantika’s true impact extends beyond hilarious performances and a killer face card: She’s also studying cultural anthropology at Columbia University. Getting boxed in isn’t Avantika’s thing, and she hopes her followers learn to operate the same way: “I want them to learn that taking risks is so deeply vital to living a rich life full of experiences and memories,” she says. “There are so many people and societal pressures constantly reminding young women of things to be scared and wary of that I hope I can balance it out by being a reminder that life is far too short to let fear get the best of you.”

“Short-form video platforms like Instagram Reels and TikTok function a lot less like social media as they do like conventional broadcast television,” explains the youngest-ever NYC City Council Member (representing the 36th district). “I consider content creation to be a very powerful tool in my role as an elected official and politician.” Chi has embraced the silly side of social media while utilizing creative ways to update his constituents on important local issues. If a local train line is being put on pause, he’s online to break down why. If there’s a case to be made for safer bike lanes, Chi will be on your feed telling you exactly which official to contact. “I was elected to serve. These videos are one way in which I make government and politics more transparent and relatable.”

Late last year, Chloe Troast’s viral Little Orphan Cassidy SNL sketch was more than just an impressive display of unexpected vocal chops. It was confirmation that she wasn’t about to be lost in the legacy program’s shuffle during her rookie season. The online uproar in response to the news that she wouldn’t be returning for the show’s 50th season was just additional confirmation. During her stint, Chloe made an imprint. To the delight of fans who wanted more, she went on her own comedy tour across the country this summer. “I want my audience to sense the joy I have in making things,” she says. “I used to make a lot of stuff that just went out into the ether. Like, weird stuff that only my friends liked. But now there are a lot more people there. I hope they feel like an extension of my friends. I’ve needed extra support recently and they were definitely there for me.”

It’s difficult to understand how Flau’jae operates with the same 24 hours a day as the rest of us. On the heels of winning last year’s NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship with her LSU team, she came out the door swinging in 2024, dropping her debut rap EP Best of Both Worlds, launching a podcast of the same name, and becoming one of the highest-earning collegiate athletes in the country—all during an unprecedented spotlight moment for women’s basketball as a whole. She’s also still in school, mind you; her junior year started this fall. “You can wear many hats and still be true to yourself,” she says. “It’s about balancing different passions and using your platform to inspire others.”

Whether you credit her triple-threat status, her social media aptitude, or the trademark hot-pink hair streaks, there’s no denying that Kylie Cantrall has made her mark this year. She took the reigns of the major Disney Descendants franchise as the star of its latest installment, Descendants: The Rise of Red, and next month, she’s set to drop her highly anticipated single “Boy for a Day.” Plus, on the smaller screen, the TikTok “10-Minute Song Challenge” she originated—in which she pens a track in 10 minutes or less—absolutely blew up, with followers sending an influx of suggestions of subjects for her to cover and even attempting the challenge on their own. “It’s really shined a light on what a beautiful place social media can be,” she says. “It’s incredible to have direct communication with my fans.”

“As the real world becomes more demanding, especially for people in my age group, it would be exhausting to open your phone and be force-fed a fake person and a fake lifestyle,” says TikTok’s resident charming chaos agent. Whether she’s trying to save a brand deal, raging over a bad breakup, or simply airing out her curiosities about bodily functions, Madeline has made transparency her game. Ever since her 2022 video about how a worm made its way into her sister’s leg went viral, Madeline’s oversharing has attracted a strong base of loyal supporters who can relate—and huge gigs too. Now she’s brought her gift of the gab over to Alex Cooper’s Unwell Network, where she delves into everything from relationship drama to mental health on her podcast Pretty Lonesome.

What makes Monet such a standout within the crowded fashion/lifestyle creator space is her awareness that she doesn’t have to posture as someone it all comes naturally to. Through everything from GRWMs to cinematic, slow-mo night-out recaps, Monet’s fans basically get to try fancy new products and attend major events like the Oscars for the first time with her. “I just want [my followers] to know that they’re on the right path in their life and that the world is theirs,” she says. And Monet’s big-sister content has put her on a golden path. She’s secured brand deals with Google, L’Oréal, Benefit Cosmetics, and more. Plus, this year, she debuted a fragrance collaboration and a sunglasses line—all with more than 5.5 million followers rooting for her along the way.

It’s one thing to be a hometown hero, it’s another to be dubbed “The Pride of Vietnam,” as this Ho Chi Minh native has. The pride’s warranted. During her 2019 debut stint on RuPaul’s Drag Race, she committed to weaving Vietnamese cultural references into all her looks. Since then, Plastique has earned the title of the most-followed Queen in Drag Race’s history and sealed brand deals with Disney+, Mac Cosmetics, and Amazon Prime, to name a few. “For me, it’s not just about the glam but also about using my platform to uplift others, especially those who might feel overlooked,” she says. “When I performed in Asia and young people told me they finally felt seen, it was such a powerful reminder of why I do what I do. It’s about connecting, inspiring, and making people feel like they belong.”

It’s not as though Ruel has ever been “under the radar” per se—the 21-year-old Australian singer-songwriter started releasing viral hits like “Don’t Tell Me” and “Golden Years” at 14, and he even got an early-career shout-out from Elton John. But this year, he cemented himself as one of Down Under’s most exciting exports. He released his latest EP of covers, Adaptations, made his Lollapalooza debut, and crossed the 3 billion mark in combined streams. “I feel like I’ve always kept pushing the boundary of what ‘making it’ is,” he says. “I just hope people take away authenticity from my platform, or even a place to make friends. That’s one of the most rewarding parts of this job—seeing people come together.”

Let’s just call it like it is: A24 is making the coming-of-age movies and TV shows the zeitgeist loves. Euphoria, Lady Bird, Midsommar, and Uncut Gems come to mind to illustrate this point. And their appeal isn’t that they make huge, flashy projects—it’s that the production company has itself evolved into a brand people care about. YouTube is filled with tutorials on how to edit video footage to get "that A24 look” and their extremely devoted fan base prides itself on the IYKYK clout that’s attached to the A24 name. That (along their very good content) has gotten A24 to where it’s at today—churning out mainstream hits with a distinctive vibe for fans who eat it up Every. Single. Time.

In 2024, the biggest flex accessory wasn’t a Goyard tote, a giant solitaire diamond, or the Bottega Veneta drop earrings—it was Apple’s AirPods Max, a pair of giant Bluetooth headphones in an array of shiny pastels that ooze casual-cool energy (all for the not-so-low price of $500). These headphones have become a #GymTok staple beloved by celebs like Bella Hadid, Timothée Chalamet, Dua Lipa, Evan Mock, and Addison Rae—all names who once embraced the humble wired earbuds and have since moved onto their more maximalist cousin. The comment section of a TikTok compilation of Timothee wearing blue Airpods Max looked something like this: “I want it so bad,” “Need me some blue Apple AirPods Max,” “About to buy some blue airpods now,” and “AirPods Max sales 📈.”

The signature pink box, the gigantic cookie the size of a small child’s face, the influencer holding the soft, pillowy confection up to the camera to enticingly split it in half before taking a huge bite: That’s Crumbl, the Utah-based cookie chain that churns out a rotating list of limited-edition, mouthwatering flavors each week.

Birthday Cookie, Snickers, Banana Pudding, Fruit Pizza, M&M Monster, Berries and Cream, even an Olivia Rodrigo collab that looked like a Y2K-ified Girl Scout cookie—whatever you can think of, Crumbl has an extravagant cookie version of it. A food chain hasn’t captured the hearts of the under-25 crowd since, well, Starbucks in the 2010s, maybe? Or perhaps...ever. Never have cookie drops been monitored like a pair of limited-edition Wales Bonner Sambas—the cult following has even given rise to accounts like @sweetcrumblspoilers, a TikTok account that posts everything you need to know about the upcoming Crumbl drop.

There’s nothing we love more than sustainability, and one resale app has risen above the rest. Home to everything from secondhand Y2K bags to unique streetwear, Depop has managed to obtain a cool factor that other secondhand platforms just haven’t quite achieved yet. According to Depop seller turned store owner and NYC It Girl Emma Rogue, the app’s success can be credited to their trendy assortment and communal feel.

“It’s structured similarly to Instagram, so it feels like social media where you can chat with sellers and buyers who share your aesthetic, whether it’s Y2K or coquette-core or opium fashion,” Rogue says. “I think Depop's success comes down to how they really want to highlight young sellers and kids who move the needle and start trends that hit the Explore page and become a huge thing.”

Viral, sexy, mouth-numbing, delicious! Fly By Jing’s hero product is the über-popular Sichuan Chili Crisp, a jar of crunchy, fragrant, garlicky topping soaked in chili oil—so much so that chef/founder Jing Gao is often credited for popularizing the Chengdu classic in the Western food scene. The conveniently vegan condiment is good on everything from your Girl Dinner to your sweet little treat (seriously—check out Fly By Jing’s recent collab with Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams). The brand has even partnered with Panda Express and Shake Shack for limited-run items using their Chili Crisp.

In every room of 20-somethings with a drink in hand, you’ll find a few sober-curious people sipping on a botanical bev like Kin Euphorics instead. Founded by Bella Hadid and Jen Batchelor, the nonalcoholic drinks come in vibe-y, aura-inspired mini cans that are incredibly difficult to not snap a pic of. Kin Euphorics boasts a range of flavors that do everything from energize (try the Kin Spritz flavor) to mellow you out (try the Lightwave flavor) without any alcohol or cannabis—just adaptogens, nootropics, and traditional Ayurvedic ingredients. One reviewer writes of Kin Bloom, “Four cans between me and my boyfriend—we felt a little drunk but, like, the softest buzz you could have, just pure joy. No hangovers but all the fun and the flavor.”

The legacy brand once seen on the arms of Paris Hilton and the OG Gossip Girl cast is a shining example of how to evolve for a new generation while maintaining your original DNA. Their recently launched Heaven by Marc Jacobs line is a highly coveted, Y2K teenage dream—oh, and have you seen their TikTok strategy? A few swipes through their account and you’ll find Nara Smith’s cooking videos, person-on-the-street interviews, Sylvanian doll drama, and dolphin memes—all the normal, unpretentious things you’d see on your FYP—but with a Marc Jacobs twist.

The proof is in the comment section, which usually looks a little something like this: “This is the best ad of all time,” “Ohhh this DEVOURED I fear,” “This affirms I wanna work for the Marc Jacobs marketing team,” “Why is this convincing me to buy a Marc Jacobs purse,” “LOL buying another tote just because of this ad,” etc. Basically, you’d be hard-pressed to find someone who doesn’t know and love the label.

On has been around for over a decade, but they've really (excuse the pun) found their stride this past year. If you haven’t seen the distinctively-perforated soles of their iconic CloudTec shoes on the feet of that hot couple in your building, you’re about to. “Once you go On, you never go back,” one TikToker commented. “Everyone in Austria and Switzerland wears them,” another user noted.

On’s burst of popularity seems to be the result of TikTok virality and lucky timing, given how the post-COVID rise of run clubs turned a solo sport into a major social activity. And, of course, there’s the campaign with FKA Twigs and the multi-year brand partnership with Zendaya that On recently launched. “Challengers 2 just dropped,” declared a fan in the comments of a branded video of Zendaya and tennis pro Roger Federer battling it out on the court—both wearing On, obviously.

Harry Styles’ nail polish brand Pleasing boasts a funky, vibrant range of unisex varnishes with a dreamy, acid trip aesthetic that has since branched out into gender-neutral fragrances and a ready-to-wear line with old school gym shorts and retro knits. Pleasing even hired their first CEO last year, so it seems like there’ll be more where that came from. BRB, asking my nail tech to do my mani in their shade Milk Man’s Cheeks!

Yes, we’re talking about those little naked dolls with the hats. The tiny, $10 cherubs have recently gone viral, partially due to the fact that they’re marketed as dolls that’ll “bring happiness” and partially because they’re just so dang cute and collectible (each Sonny Angel comes in blind box packaging, so you don’t know which one you’re going to get until you open it up). Like Barbie, Sonny Angel has evolved into something bigger than the doll itself—saying that they’re just a doll company would be inadequate—but they’re silly and unserious, unintimidating in a way that Barbie never was. And isn’t that what we all need right now?

Having the right brand of water bottle has become a status symbol of sorts over the years, and having a Stanley Quencher in your hand means tons of social capital (thank you to Camelbak, S’well, and Hydroflask for paving the way). “Water bottle culture might actually inspire me to hydrate,” one TikTok commenter declared in a video of a wall of Stanley cups. It’s $35 of stainless steel that people are decking out with charms, toppers, mini backpacks, lip gloss holders, even snack trays that clip onto the top of the Stanley—the whimsy of it all! Not only is it the chosen bottle of our time, it’s also just a really, really good product. One TikToker proved this in a viral video that showed that her Stanley cup survived a car fire with ice still left inside—the brand responded by sending her a couple more Stanleys… and a brand new car. Casual!

Starface, the brainchild of former magazine editor Julie Schott, is the skincare brand behind those playful star-shaped stickers that you’ve seen dotting the faces of everyone from Charlie D’Amelio to Justin and Hailey Bieber. Skincare isn’t overcomplicated or moralized with Starface—there’s no fake flaw-embracing here. Instead, Starface’s genuine acne positivity and simple branding (I’m talkin’ primary colors and shapes simple) has taken a stigmatized product and turned it into a trendy accessory. Julie is also the founder of Julie, the morning-after pill brand, and Blip nicotine gum—an assortment that’s as unapologetically Brat Summer-coded as their customers.

The brand known for their smoking tuxedos and Mondrian dresses invested heavily into beauty this past year, and boy, oh boy, has it paid off. For starters, YSL Beauty's iconic Libre perfume, a seductive blend that Dua Lipa has been touting since 2019, has exploded in online popularity. “I get so many compliments on my YSL Libre perfume that I literally keep the full bottle in my purse," raved one TikToker. Their Candy Glaze lipsticks also had a viral moment—beauty queen Alix Earle touted the products as part of her signature pouty lip combo (that’d be Shades 2 and 15, thank you!) which then inspired many an “Alix made me buy it” TikTok. Oh, and last but certainly not least, the brand named Troye Sivan (yes, of SWEAT tour fame) as their newest face. The singer served Euro male model vibes while sporting a dash of YSL’s signature Balmy Tint and the photos had me SPRINTING to grab my credit card.

At last, the world caught up to the rest of us with their shameless crush on Sabrina Carpenter, 5 a.m. club nights filled our brat summer year brought on by Charli XCX, and Chappell Roan became our favorite artist’s favorite artist. While it seems like the trio crashed into the forefront of pop culture as swiftly as the PowerPuff Girls did from Professor X’s lab, they’ve actually been putting in the work for more than a minute. Chappell’s debut album, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, peaked at No. 2 on Billboard’s 200 Chart despite being released last fall; BRAT became Charli’s highest-charting album a decade into her career; and Sabrina scored her first No. 1 with her sixth album, Short N’ Sweet. With some sugar, spice, and everything nice (otherwise known as “me espresso”), fans soon realized that the trio’s authenticity and aesthetics lined up with the beloved Y2K cartoon, threw together some edits, and thus, the PowerPop Girls were born.

When The Apps are so bad that people post flyers near congested crosswalks in the city, perhaps we’re due for a collective dating cleanse, refresh, or retreat. Hence, the Boy Sober movement. (Don’t get it twisted though—it’s more like… relationship sober). Comedian Hope Woodard coined the term earlier this year as she embarked on a celibacy journey after some sour dating experiences. Now in her 20s, Hope realized she had been in a relationship of some sort since kindergarten and decided to take a year off from sex and dating. She shared her experience through her TikTok and IRL presence at comedy showcases, inspiring hundreds of thousands of folks to do the same. “When you get out of a relationship or you have a really bad situationship and dating or seeing people is tainted and you want to rinse it from your mouth, I feel like the best way to do it is celibacy,” one of Hope’s followers told the New York Times. “It’s this year’s hottest mental health craze.”

POV: You’re lying in bed the night before a big event, picturing your outfit in your mind. As you piece together loud statement pieces from your closet, you think, This combo can’t possibly work, until chaos wins and it does. Whether you layer a netted dress with a metallic bikini, throw on faux fur with your frilly socks and your Sambas, or rock a tracksuit with kitten heels, letting maximalism guide your styling process removes stress and introduces a new wave of self-expression.

“Don’t let your mind freak you out into not wearing a piece. As humans, I feel like we’re so quick to judge a book by its cover, but literally, just try it, put it on, and see if you like it,” says Sierra Rena, an internet It Girl who’s styled stars like Sza and Mai Pham. “You never know where you can go with an outfit or where you can take your personal style if you don’t experiment.”

Let’s face it: Not everyone has the time to sit down and watch a full newscast *all* the time, and with a ton of easily accessible info online, the news cycle moves at an insanely fast pace. When we want to catch up to speed in a straight shot, all we have to do is tap through our social feeds. Want to hear behind-the-scenes drama straight from on-set sources, or need a TL;DR of the latest updates surrounding the U.S. election? No prob—thanks to some of our peers who are putting in the work, analyzing longer pieces, and spreading news through easily digestible bite-sized content and scrollable infographics, the future of media lies at our fingertips.

“Whenever I write out something for Instagram, I treat it like a challenge: how efficiently can I synthesize the point I’m trying to make and the information I’m trying to get across? Knowing that people only have a couple of seconds before they decide to keep scrolling, how can I get them to pause for a minute?” says Matt Bernstein, known to his army of 1.6 million followers as @MattXIV.

“Influencer” is a very real job title, so might we consider… “de-influencer”? They’re the antithesis of the fashion girlies and beauty gurus who have taken over our FYPs over the past couple of years, and they’re here to stop you from buying another insulated tumbler to go along with the ones collecting dust in your cupboard. Because trends come and go at an alarming rate—especially thanks to social media—it’s easy to fall into the trap of unsustainable overconsumption. Just take it from TikTok’s 2024 Economy Impact Report, which revealed that businesses on the app added a casual $24 billion (!!!) to the U.S. economy.

“We’ve collectively gone off the deep end with how much we consume—every garage in America is packed with stuff no one uses, while we’re $1.6 trillion in credit card debt,” climate activist and founder of Sustainable & Just Future Sage Lenier tells Cosmo. Not all heroes wear capes—de-influencers encourage us to prevent the production of new products by shopping secondhand. Sage adds, “Deinfluencing is about stepping back and questioning why we’re constantly buying things we don’t need. All this extra stuff isn't even improving our quality of life, so why are we destroying the planet for it?”

Since the late 2000s and early 2010s, technology has made incredible advancements—see: the iPhone 16’s designated camera button and two to three HD lenses, the Metaverse, and my personal favorite, Uber Pool (now UberX Share). But as our entire world starts to feel more like a livable Instagram photo op and less like a meaningful place to make memories, we’ve felt inspired to turn back time with our devices. Maybe it’s in the name of noughties nostalgia, or perhaps it’s an excuse to unplug and go analog with needle drops on our record players, snagging typewriters straight out of The Tortured Poets Department, and getting the indie sleaze effect with digital camera and film photography. We’re recalibrating and learning to live in the moment with less pressure to post Every. Single. Thing. And honestly? It feels damn good, even with our friends hounding us for last night’s pics that have yet to be uploaded from our SD cards.

Don’t side-eye me…we’ve all had these moments where no one wants to be the bad guy. Whether you have to send a scary email to your landlord about a screwed-up rent charge or find yourself dreading that draft of a soft-breakup text with a Hinge match you never actually dated, services like Meta AI and Chat GPT come in clutch. Once we come to terms with being the villain in someone’s story, letting AI be the asshole seems like the only solution to protect our peace.

Whether you love them or love to hate them, dupes have had an incredible impact on our shopping habits. Thanks to the thousands of videos thrown into our TikTok algorithms, you’ll find similar products for a significant markdown, no matter the market. The original brands being duped are even playing into the fandemonium. In May 2024, Lululemon hosted an event where customers could turn in their knock-off Align leggings to receive a discount on the real thing. Dupes have also made their way to mainstream media, with Cosmo editors scouring the internet for lookalikes, from Taylor Swift’s Chiefs merch to EmRata’s model-off-duty vibes. All that to say: don’t knock knock-offs till you’ve tried them.

The days of stand-up aren’t behind us, but social media-centric comedy has added a whole new element to the game. Folks like Rudy Mancuso and Brittany Broski have made full-on careers out of sharing their sense of humor with strangers online rather than starting onstage. Whether they give their two cents on the latest pop culture moments or react to glass bottles rolling down massive sets of stairs, stars have been born on our phone screens thanks to their relatable—and honestly, delightfully disruptive—nature.

“Gen Z humor can seem so random and nonsensical but simultaneously hilarious—it’s my favorite part about it,” says TikTok’s resident funny girl and reaction video queen Ayamé. “We grew up on Vine, which had a six-second time limit on videos, so it’s only natural that we’ve developed a humor that’s reliant on short bursts of funny.”

Are you willing to sweat for the sake of romance? Maybe you’ve found yourself in a dating rut or you don’t feel genuine connections with the matches on your dating apps. Let us introduce you to meet-cute run clubs. From fitness to flirtation, there are obvious benefits to joining a run club, and if you don’t know where to begin…some verrry resourceful folks put together a Google Doc for different clubs in New York. Located in a smaller town or suburban area? No prob—that resourceful person could be you. Even if you don’t come out of it with a half-marathon or hot hookup under your belt, you can at least partake in some bonding and community-building.

Wholesome content documenting friendships to the tune of Billie Eilish’s “Birds of a Feather” and photo galleries appreciating what’s left of nature have raked in more than 800,000 views on TikTok alone (that’s 11 times more than #Barbiecore got during its heyday in 2023, FYI). To be clear: Hopecore isn’t toxic positivity but an optimistic outlook in these trying times as we sort our own shit out. “Gen Z isn’t afraid of trying things out of the ordinary, and although many of us may be lost or are figuring things out, we’re doing it with high spirits,” says Marissa Meizz, founder of the social community No More Lonely Friends. “Mental health is a part of our daily conversations, which is turning out to be a positive change in how we treat ourselves and others, especially in the workplace and in friendships.”

Accessorizing our accessories has become a serious art form, making a strong case for embracing self-expression down to even the smallest details. There’s a reason we’re seeing people swap the shoelaces on their Gazelles for frilly pink ribbons and layering charms and chains on their handbags. It brings playfulness back to fashion and encourages individuality, as no two people will put pieces together the same way. The flex of making something entirely your own, all by yourself? Nothing really tops that.

Why shouldn’t we cause some delightful disruption? Just ask Harry Daniels, who started serenading famous strangers as a joke during a Sabrina Carpenter CD signing and found his lane as he sang to everyone from Gypsy Rose Blanchard to President Joe Biden. “Although it’s become clear now that I’m trolling, my logic is it’s no different than when you drive past a car accident on the highway. After sitting in so much traffic because people keep rubbernecking and can’t look away, you realize people are really attracted to disaster,” Harry says. Since he posted his first video, Harry has garnered nearly 2 million followers, started his *own* music career, and been spoofed on SNL in the process.