Hottest Trends Of Coachella, Gen Z’s Centre of the Fashion Universe
The Coachella music festival is often regarded as a springboard for emerging fashion trends. In recent years, the festival dress code has become more flexible, reflecting the desire of young people to keep up with the latest micro-segmented trends or to showcase their stylish outfits on the tours of stars like Beyoncé or Taylor Swift.
Despite its diminished influence, Coachella remains an important indicator of how Generation Z is shopping, according to Katharine Carter, fashion and retail analyst at Edited. Retailers continue to rely on the trends that emerge at Coachella to inform their summer apparel selections. Last year, we observed a notable shift in dopamine as the quiet extravagance faded. This year, we are seeing a revival of styles like printed shorts.
As the first major festival of the year, some brands and retailers use Coachella as a barometer for spring/summer dress codes and to inspire marketing. "The festival kicks off our biggest sales period," said Raissa Gerona, chief brand officer for Revolve and Fwrd. The retailer hosts the annual Revolve Music Festival in conjunction with Coachella to build brand awareness and showcase its festival offerings. "The event inspires our customers and defines the different pop styles they wear throughout the summer," Gerona said.
This year, many attendees are opting for an ultra-casual look, influenced by celebrities who are embracing a more relaxed style. These celebrities are eschewing the traditional fancy dress in favour of more casual, eclectic outfits that resemble laid-back truckers' attire. As Dazed reports, Coachella is facing an "identity crisis" as some festival-goers reject the flower-crowned aesthetic that has long been associated with it.
Some of the most influential attendees were seen wearing mash-ups. Super couple Swift and Travis Kelce wowed the crowd at Ice Spice in mismatched pieces, trainers and hats, with Kelce wearing a plaid shirt from R13 with striped trousers (designer TBA). Meanwhile, Swift wore a black T-shirt, skirt and trainers from Travis' "New Heights" podcast, a green hat and a large Stella McCartney crossbody bag, which resulted in a 75% increase in searches for the brand over the weekend.
On Sunday, Hailey Bieber also wore an eclectic casual outfit, comprising baggy jeans, an oversized aviator jacket, a hat and a leopard print bandana.
As the trend pendulum swings from millennials to the 2010s, some Coachella attendees are eager to recapture the glory days of this year's festival fashions, according to Carter. He added that the millennial issue has been "huge" for festival attire for years. However, this time around, searches on Pinterest for "2014 Trend Core" are up 1,240 per cent as people plan their festival outfits.
The Coachella website also confirms this. Hundreds of young concert-goers wore crochet tops, sheer or lace overlays on bikinis or lingerie, fur boots paired with short skirts or jeans, and chunky layered jewellery reminiscent of the vibe of the festivals attended by Kendall and Kylie Jenner in the 2010s. Ice Spice exemplified the trend, wearing a cut-out black one-piece from DTC brand I.AM. GIA's black jumpsuit and black fluffy boots.
Following their participation in the Renaissance and period tours last year, young fans have begun to emulate Lana Del Rey's mid-2010s "flirty" style, bringing the spirit of the concert tour to festival fashion with flower crowns, wedding dresses, vintage-inspired tea gowns and bows.
"We anticipate that the 'travelwear' trend observed with Taylor Swift and Beyoncé will be seen at more festivals this year," Carter said. "With Lana Del Rey at its core, retailers can reposition their inventory within that framework." The trend follows the sassy trend that took off last year: searches for "sassy core" on Pinterest increased by 600 per cent in the run-up to Coachella. The platform also noted a 100% increase in searches for "mini corset dress," a 1764% increase in searches for "bow jewellery," and a 200% increase in searches for "simple tulle dress," along with other search terms that grew. According to Edited, the number of ribbons and bows coming into shops is up 101% year-on-year. The company is confident that the Del Rey trend will continue to drive sexy dress codes all summer long, even beyond the gates of Coachella.
