The (re)Branding of Sabrina Carpenter
There was a time, not that long ago, when if someone said “Sabrina Carpenter” out loud I would stare at them blankly cause I wouldn't know the deep trenches of Disney Channel stardom. If I think about the first time I heard her name was when she and Olivia Rodrigo made headlines for being in a feud over a boy, who I don’t even remember the name of anymore. Olivia was having her main character moment then, so everyone kind of forgot Sabrina.
Till feathers blew up on tiktok and reels. She was talented, for sure. Her sweet voice made your head bop, cute baby face, and upon further research a solid string of acting gigs and 5 studio albums. But in a world oversaturated with former Disney stars trying to grow up in public, Sabrina just felt like…another one.
Until 2022. Until she wasn’t. Until Espresso came.
Because what I’ve witnessed over the last year, particularly with the cult-like status of her singles, album charting top platforms, videos reaching that billion view status, this isn’t just a glow-up. It’s a branding masterclass. A carefully plotted transformation from vaguely familiar TV star to pop culture’s favorite flirty, funny, feminine anti-hero. And we can’t leave it to chance. She did it with strategy, with vision and in a tutu.
Lock in the visual identity.
In a sea of Charlie’s neon green and Taylor’s hot pink, it’s difficult to stand out. Sabrina did it with a color no one had claimed: baby blue. A color that feels so her, so aligned with her rebranding and her persona.
She went really heavy with this. There was a point, just before Espresso’s release, where we saw a string of collabs all pointed in this new blue direction. Her Erewhon smoothie? Blue. Her Prada collab? A blue lip gloss. Her Samsung campaign? Blue lighting, blue clothes, and a blue phone. She almost branded herself with a color the way brands used to do with their logos. It's visual semiotics 101. It was perfectly executed.
And it worked. When I think of Espresso or the Short n’ Sweet tour, I don’t just hear the songs, I see it. That’s what a strong brand does. She made this blue hers, like Mattel with their Barbie pink, or Valentino with their red.
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Make it sensory.
How I see it is, Espresso became not just a bop, but an association strategy. We all think of coffee as comforting, it’s universal, and personal. Sabrina took that and wrapped it in cheeky lyrics, flowy visuals, and the retro sparkle feeling of old Hollywood. Suddenly, every time I was sipping my latte, my brain was singing that’s that me, espresso. AND I KNOW I’M NOT THE ONLY ONE.
When I think about it, it’s not just coffee. It’s how she enters her tour nights, on a big, fluffy, rotating bed. It’s how her perfume smells like chocolate. It’s how her hair is always long and shiny and it makes you want to touch it.
That’s the real power of sensory branding: she’s tied a feeling (warm, soft, fluffy) to a sound, a color, a person. Herself.
And I saw it way back when she released Nonsense. The blue strobe-lit, almost seizure-inducing visuals of that music video felt like a sensory attack. Honestly, that might be where it all started.
Engineer Nostalgia.
As people we love throwing it back, sitting together and talking about yesteryears. Sabrina really committed to that idea. From the 50s silhouettes to big blonde blowouts to heart-cutout dresses that screamed “Valentine’s Barbie got a bratty makeover”, she turned nostalgia into her signature. Now I can’t look at fuzzy handcuffs without thinking of her, or nude shiny lipgloss without associating it with her style.
She’s a playbook on authenticity. She claimed her own corner of pop history and brought back hyper-feminine, unapologetically girly visuals with just the right amount of cheekiness. I know for a fact that any costume party or halloween is going to have someone dressed up as her. That’s how exact her style sits on the fashion tapestry.
She just never followed trends. She was inspired by the past to make something distinctly hers. That’s what separates a moment from a movement. Even when we see any pap pictures of her, or appearances, she’s always in character. It’s always so her.
It all fits her music style too: old-Hollywood pop princess, very fun, very flirty. We’re not crying over boys, we’re dancing to them crying over us. There’s an unabashed joy in her voice and lyrics that almost reminds you of simpler times. I know what music to cry to, but she gave me music to dance to, to vibe to, to scream to!
Curate your proximity.
If you can get Taylor Swift to hand you her stage, for the biggest world tour ever, you’ve officially arrived. Opening for Swift gave Sabrina not just global eyeballs, but the right kind of stamp of approval. The “she’s legit” kind. Fun fact: that was Sabrina’s first tour ever! And if you see the videos, you know she owned that stage like 80,000 people paid to come and see her, she was truly meant to be a star!
From there, it was a domino effect: Skims collab. Prada Beauty. Marc Jacobs campaign. Her own fragrance line. Her Coachella 2024 set! Which wasn’t just another great performance, she tied in her visual branding moment with the whole set painted blue & killing it with her vocals and fit. She also attended her 2nd Met Gala in a custom Oscar de la Renta gown, and her 3 IG posts generated $6.65 million in earned media value. In one move, she positioned herself as part of the fashion elite and aligned with fashion powerhouses.
She partnered with brands (and people) that were aspirational but still just within reach. The kind that makes me want to buy her new perfume, and go thrifting for her aesthetic.
Controlled chaos.
As people we love throwing it back, sitting together and talking about yesteryears. Sabrina really committed to that idea. From the 50s silhouettes to big blonde blowouts to heart-cutout dresses that screamed “Valentine’s Barbie got a bratty makeover”, she turned nostalgia into her signature. Now I can’t look at fuzzy handcuffs without thinking of her, or nude shiny lipgloss without associating it with her style.
She’s a playbook on authenticity. She claimed her own corner of pop history and brought back hyper-feminine, unapologetically girly visuals with just the right amount of cheekiness. I know for a fact that any costume party or halloween is going to have someone dressed up as her. That’s how exact her style sits on the fashion tapestry.
She just never followed trends. She was inspired by the past to make something distinctly hers. That’s what separates a moment from a movement. Even when we see any pap pictures of her, or appearances, she’s always in character. It’s always so her.
It all fits her music style too: old-Hollywood pop princess, very fun, very flirty. We’re not crying over boys, we’re dancing to them crying over us. There’s an unabashed joy in her voice and lyrics that almost reminds you of simpler times. I know what music to cry to, but she gave me music to dance to, to vibe to, to scream to!
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The wrap-up
Sabrina Carpenter’s career is the definition of “it takes 10 years to become an overnight success.”
She’s been putting out music since 2014. Six studio albums deep. She was working, building, showing up, even when no one was really paying attention. Let’s be honest, most people would’ve given up by now. But when her moment came or when she made the moment happen she was ready for all the success. A success that made her the top 10 streamed artist in the world, recognition that got her her grammy nomination and fans that make every music video go viral.
And now? She’s no longer the girl from Disney. She’s the brand everyone wants to copy. She’s the brand I wanna study!
And just when I thought I had it all figured out…she released her newest album. When the announcement itself can cause such frenzy for “Man’s Best Friend”, it’s not surprising that it’s already UK’s No. 1 album & No. 1 on the Billboard 200 for both the weeks it's been out.
Is it controversial? It’s definitely not for pearl clutchers (her words, not mine) . Do I have a personal opinion? It will grow on you before you realise it. But one thing’s for sure, she knows exactly how to get people’s attention. Mine is only on her.