Addison Rae on her mermaid-inspired Thom Browne CFDA Awards look and her Halloween costume

Allen and Rae tried a few different options before finally pairing the curve-hugging skirt with a signature gray Thom Browne corset that put Rae in an hourglass shape, and a strand of Mikimoto pearls, giving new meaning to the term.office siren.” “It just felt perfect,” she says of the look. The skirt, peeking out from under Browne’s delicate tailoring, reflected the light in such a way that it looked as if Rae had just emerged from the water as a mermaid heading to land to spend the night as a human.

To further bring the fantasy into the real world, Rae teamed up with the legendary makeup artist Pat McGrath which she calls a “visionary” with “an aquamarine heart,” to complement her bright blonde beach waves. “Every look she creates speaks volumes, and she knows exactly how to make a girl feel beautiful,” says Rae. “I feel so lucky to be able to work with her for these special moments.”

As for her accessories, Rae’s seashell clutch for the evening looked like she picked it up from the seaside on her way to the awards ceremony, and while it wasn’t functional, it added to her ethereal aesthetic. “Dara’s mind works in mysterious ways and she came in and said, ‘I have a shell,’ and I wasn’t sure what that meant exactly,” she says. “Then she pulled out this shell and it was just perfect.” Rae leaned into the whimsy and playfully posed with it as a “shellphone” all night long.

The scene was reminiscent of Aquamarine, the charming 2006 film about friendship that bears the same name as Rae’s song, starring Sara Paxton as the titular mermaid alongside best friends JoJo, And Emma Roberts. “I probably rewatched it for the thousandth time about a week before I went into the studio,” she says. While the song doesn’t entirely reflect the film, Addison was inspired by what the word and color could convey about her own journey of self-discovery. “I wanted to discover what aquamarine meant to me,” she says. “It was just a perfect moment to reflect on my transformation and get comfortable with change, embrace it, align with yourself, and really follow your heart and gut.”