Coachella Fashion
More like Coachella fashyawnnn. Pls wake me up when weekend 2 is over.
I should apologize because I began writing this article when I essentially lost all faith in personal style, so initial reactions were guttural. Boy did this season’s festival wear make me question what the future of style and design holds. For an event that is meant to inspire our summer fashion it really did not. In fact it inspired me on what not to do! Across the board (aside from a couple stand out moments, praise be for the hidden gems and the non influencers of weekend 2) the looks appeared packaged and overly planned and all the same. Like a kit bought on Dolls Kill labeled “2025 Festival Barbie”. Accessories felt like they just came out of a Bezos Boutique Amazon plastic bag and the ever present cowgirl boots looked like they were being worn for the first time. There is sooo much insane western vintage waiting to be sourced out there in the world!! Maybe our algorithms aren’t diverse enough? Group think and laziness has swept us away? Bring back being a little weird, raw, or crunchy. I’M BEGGING.
I should mention that most of these findings are based on influencers on my FYP so maybe I’m the problem. I wish I could find photos of random people without a following who went (if anyone wants to send me things they saw and liked I am all ears + eyes). I’m sure there are some fashionista out there who absolutely killed their looks. At least I did see some normal cool people in the back of these insta famous people’s posts.
The 2025 Formula: boots, small shorts, jewelry, and at least 5 belts
Now that actually isn’t unfashionable and it is practical for the heat and terrain it just felt uninspired (or maybe all inspired by the same TikTok algorithm?). Outfits were like a costume with little connection to the person actually wearing it. I wish that the pieces felt hand selected by the wearer. Something that they had to open more than 3 tabs before they found that one item, scowered depop for that piece that matches an ultra specific search word, or browsed multiple racks of musty thrift clothes. I feel strongly that people look the best when their clothes have a bit of them in it. Even if it’s not something I’d wear I love seeing a friend in something that is just so them that I can see clear as day why they were drawn to it. And I know as more and more celebrities use stylists or are dressed by brands we lose a bit of this hand selected feel. And I know life is busy so having the time to curate an outfit can lose priority. However, always remember we have closets to pull from and clothes in need of repurposing.
This past year for Bonnaroo I brought everything from my closet or purchased second hand. When my friends and I are packing we generally attempt to all have our own special looks but really just end up packing multiple cool items and any simple clothing (that can withstand the heat) then piece them together day by day based on what we feel best in. The thing about Bonnaroo is that its an entire crowd that genuinely wants to see the music and that may or may not shower for the entire weekend. This in turn leads to hardly any “influencers”. The closest thing to a Revolve Fest is the Super Mush tent. Bonnaroo is also a 95% camping festival so the people who are really dressing up are working with limited resources, like an RV mirror for makeup and porta potty style showers. That said, I saw better and more original outfits there last summer.
To end on a more positive note there are a couple girls who I do think always dress for themselves and as themselves:
IzziPoopi (generally just quality clothing that didn’t look try hard)
Lefevrediary (served western vintage in a chic and authentic way)
Ageorama (some great DIY items and good weird layering moments) and her friend group she went with, like Sierrabraveee, all contributed to the coolness so no notes there.
And performer fashion fav: Tyla (did grunge 2010 pop star SO well kinda like if Shake it Up fashion grew up??). Obviously Lady Gaga’s stage looks were insane but for the purpose of this article that would be like comparing apples to a literal apple orchard.
With the 2010s breathing down our shoulders I just wished to have seen a couple more nods to it. Via indie sleaze and DIY Bohemian. Maybe I’ll have to go next year to prove myself…
Enjoy some Moodbinders with Coachella fashion direction! Some of these are bluesky (if I was a rich and famous person) and others are what I would have worn to the festival as myself (a not rich or famous person). XX
