Last week, I found myself on my way to Palm Springs to attend the most fashionable music festival of the season, Coachella. This felt surreal — I couldn’t believe I was attending an event I used to experience only through the vlogs of my favorite YouTubers. I remember being excited every year to see everyone’s outfits and give my opinions from my couch.
As a fashion enthusiast, I wanted to feel in style for my first time at the festival, but I encountered myself with a question, “What even is Coachella’s style nowadays?” After a two-year hiatus caused by the pandemic, influencers and festival-goers began their pilgrimage back to Palm Desert, and with that, there was a lot of confusion about the festival’s new dress code.
Coachella’s fashion has drastically changed throughout the year, beginning in the early 2010s with celebrities like Kendall Jenner, Vanessa Hudgens and Beyoncé. Flower crowns, crochet tops and fringed vests were the go-to for a boho-tribal chic aesthetic. Alongside the Indio classic boho look, there has always been a significant influence from rave culture at the festival, typically achieved by hardly-there tops, mountains of glitter, and a lot of neon.
A pandemic later, and society seems to have moved on from these looks and onto a new interpretation of festival fashion. One of the predominant trends I noticed was Y2K. This early 2000s look has had a chokehold on Instagram, had everyone wearing low-rise pants, micro skirts, cropped tank tops and mini bags. There was also a large amount of the alternative techno-futurism aesthetic that has quickly become popular thanks to the slightly more niche fashion side of Tiktok. Curved reflective sunglasses, grungy prints, leather, slicked back hairstyles and a minimal color palette made some people look like they came out of a stylish Matrix reality.
Despite all the looks inspired by social media, designer fashion seemed to have a lot of influence in this year’s Coachella. Maison Margiela’s classic deconstructionism was responsible for exposed seams, raw edges and distressed motifs. Cutouts, intricate silhouettes, and transparencies in pattern reminded me of Mugler, which has recently been very popular among celebrities. Thanks to the internet’s obsession with Vivienne Westwood in recent years, there was also a palpable presence of preppy-punk styling. Gucci was also in the air, almost like an ode to the festival’s night one headliner, Harry Styles. People styled different fabrics, feathers, sequins, prints and contrasting colors, similar to how Alessandro Michele has made his trademark look for the brand.
Coachella is much more than just a music festival. It is the celebration of art, a safe space to dance, sing and express yourself. While many think this was the worst year for Coachella looks, I believe it was a big step out of established stereotypes and a step forward in creativity. It was amazing to see each person’s interpretation of fashion.
Words and graphics by Danna Macias.