From her first video shot in wide angle at arm’s length on the London Underground, Sabrina Bahsoon single-handedly launched a TikTok trend that has gone international and taken over the beauty, fashion and music industries.
If you’ve taken the subway recently, you may have come across young people filming themselves with a smartphone at arm’s length, twirling it in the air in big jerks as they play. And there is a good chance that these young people will reproduce a trend TikTok launched by Sabrina Bahsoon, aka “Tube Girl”. Its virality on the Chinese social network is such that it has already managed to monetize it through multiple campaigns for the beauty, fashion and music sectors. Express portrait.
The birth of the Tube Girl phenomenon dates back only to August 13, 2023
Sabrina Bahsoon has been posting funny videos on TikTok since at least April 2020, like many people who started doing so during the first Covid-related lockdowns. This 22-year-old Malaysian, who came to live in the UK to study law at the University of Durham, posted her first video on the London Underground in July 2022. At that time, she simply put her phone in a caravan and presented her outfit the day while dancing.
@sabrinabahsoon
We’re in London or whatever @salomedas #wireless2022 #wirelessfestival #outfitcheck #london
♬ LONDON – BIA and J. Cole
This content is blocked because you have not accepted cookies and other trackers. This content is provided by TikTok. In order to view it, you must accept the use made by TikTok of your data which may be used for the following purposes: to allow you to view and share content with social media, to promote the development and improvement of the products of Humanoid and its partners, show you personalized advertisements related to your profile and activity, define a personalized advertising profile, measure the performance of advertisements and content on this site and measure the audience of this site (find out more)
Manage my choices
Gradually, he refines his style, begins to hold the phone at arm’s length, capturing more of his face, and systematizes the use of the wide angle, creating a fish eye more engaging, first at home. One day she does it on the London Underground and his video posted on August 13, 2023 exploded: 11 million views in just a few days. She was born “Tube Girl”.
@sabrinabahsoon
Gotta match the vibes when I come #londontiktok #nickiminaj
♬ where are those girls – fee✩
This content is blocked because you have not accepted cookies and other trackers. This content is provided by TikTok. In order to view it, you must accept the use made by TikTok of your data which may be used for the following purposes: to allow you to view and share content with social media, to promote the development and improvement of the products of Humanoid and its partners, show you personalized advertisements related to your profile and activity, define a personalized advertising profile, measure the performance of advertisements and content on this site and measure the audience of this site (find out more)
Manage my choices
In less than a month he collaborated with MAC, Valentino and Troye Sivan.
So Sabrina Bahsoon now nicknamed “ Subway girl » from all over TikTok, it is reiterated, approaching or exceeding one million views each time. Enough to quickly attract the attention of the creative industries. First, the cosmetics brand MAC commissioned sponsored videos from him.
@sabrinabahsoon
Tube Girl 🤝🏽 MAC Girl @maccosmetics #ad #MACstudioradiance
♬ Gloria – Gabrieli
This content is blocked because you have not accepted cookies and other trackers. This content is provided by TikTok. In order to view it, you must accept the use made by TikTok of your data which may be used for the following purposes: to allow you to view and share content with social media, to promote the development and improvement of the products of Humanoid and its partners, show you personalized advertisements related to your profile and activity, define a personalized advertising profile, measure the performance of advertisements and content on this site and measure the audience of this site (find out more)
Manage my choices
Then it is the musical artists themselves who ask for it in their videos to promote their titles on social networks, such as Bella Poarch, Omar Appolo or even Troye Sivan.
@sabrinabahsoon
It’s okay because he killed though 🤭❤️ @Troye Sivan #gotmestarted #tubegirl #tubegirleffect
♬ He got me started – Troye Sivan
This content is blocked because you have not accepted cookies and other trackers. This content is provided by TikTok. In order to view it, you must accept the use made by TikTok of your data which may be used for the following purposes: to allow you to view and share content with social media, to promote the development and improvement of the products of Humanoid and its partners, show you personalized advertisements related to your profile and activity, define a personalized advertising profile, measure the performance of advertisements and content on this site and measure the audience of this site (find out more)
Manage my choices
And since the peak of the hype for Sabrina Bahsoon aka Tube Girl coincides with the fashion month (the sequence of four fashion weeks in the main Western fashion capitals, i.e. New York, London, Milan, then Paris), the brands even began to dress him, or even invite him to fashion shows, like the designer Christian Cowan, then the house of Valentino.
@sabrinabahsoon
@christiancowan takes me out on the subway before the catwalk 🤩
♬ original sound: change the audio for 🫵🏻
This content is blocked because you have not accepted cookies and other trackers. This content is provided by TikTok. In order to view it, you must accept the use made by TikTok of your data which may be used for the following purposes: to allow you to view and share content with social media, to promote the development and improvement of the products of Humanoid and its partners, show you personalized advertisements related to your profile and activity, define a personalized advertising profile, measure the performance of advertisements and content on this site and measure the audience of this site (find out more)
Manage my choices
@sabrinabahsoon
Thanks for having me backstage @Valentino ❤️ I loved being a Valentino girl 😘 #valentinolécole
♬ Originalton: Speed up songs
This content is blocked because you have not accepted cookies and other trackers. This content is provided by TikTok. In order to view it, you must accept the use made by TikTok of your data which may be used for the following purposes: to allow you to view and share content with social media, to promote the development and improvement of the products of Humanoid and its partners, show you personalized advertisements related to your profile and activity, define a personalized advertising profile, measure the performance of advertisements and content on this site and measure the audience of this site (find out more)
Manage my choices
This means that these creative industries understand how quickly a trend can come and go, and so they may want to take advantage of it as quickly as possible before it goes out of fashion.
Instead of wasting time on the subway, Tube Girl makes money there
Near BBC, Sabrina Bahsoon shared how she became a Tube Girl. Since she lives in the suburbs of London, she constantly has to take public transport and likes to listen to loud music to pass the time and feel safer in her own bubble. One day she asked an acquaintance to film her for a TikTok, but she refused, so she did it herself, and that’s how her idea was born. This was quickly picked up by other people on TikTok, inspired by Sabrina Bahsoon’s self-confidence that she dares to dance hard like no one is watching in the subway, and she even takes advantage of the windows as a source of wind in her hair.
We could almost say that the Tube Girl trend helps to promote the use of public transport and the hours we spend there. Instead of wasting time, Sabrina Bahsoon actually manages to earn money. But it remains to be seen for how long…
The future of Numerama is coming! But even before that, our colleagues need you. Do you have 3 minutes? Take their survey
Mary Crossley is an author at “The Fashion Vibes”. She is a seasoned journalist who is dedicated to delivering the latest news to her readers. With a keen sense of what’s important, Mary covers a wide range of topics, from politics to lifestyle and everything in between.
