Coachella: The Fashion Week of the Desert
It’s April again and the fashion world turns its head towards Coachella. It’s a massive music festival located in Indio, California and houses about 650,000 people every year. This means it's all about the music, right? Not quite. Influencers and the general public both know it’s their opportunity to dress flashy and show off their style. Spread across two weekends, thousands of celebrities and influencers show up and show out to unofficially compete in a style contest. Meanwhile, us fashion lovers scroll on TikTok and Instagram to find our favorite fits of the week.
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Let’s go back to the fashion origins of Coachella. Vanessa Hudgens is often considered the fashion queen of Coachella. She’s shown up almost every year since 2012 and set off an intense boho-chic wave within festival goers. From flower crowns, chunky belts, and bikini tops, she’s the blueprint even in 2024. Some staples over the years include jean shorts and flowy tops with ornate designs, all topped off with a spectacle of accessories. She’s inspired thousands of people’s outfits, even mentioning that Coachella is where others should express themselves. Now let’s dive into some of the most loved 2024 Coachella outfits.
Starting off with popular TikTok star Zoi Lerma (@zoifishh on TikTok), she rose to fame with her energetic dances but stayed relevant with her unique outfits. She had a total of three Coachella outfits, starting off with a Vanessa Hudgens inspired white boho-chic bikini top and skirt combo. She combined the look with a chunky belt and DIY garter along with chunky boots. Her second outfit was Dune inspired and featured a black knit mini dress with a back cutout adorned with stacked belts and cuff bracelets. She topped off the look with a black knit headpiece, similar to hunter turban seen in the movie Dune. Lastly, she went out with a bang with a jean bikini top and skirt set which she cheekily captioned “all jean for doja'' on Instagram. With a few pops of red throughout, the outfit captured all the best parts of Spring 2024 fashion trends.
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Sabrina Carpenter is an American pop singer and even opened for Taylor Swift’s recent tour. Already well known for her stage outfits consisting of highly praised minidresses and miniskirts, it’s clear she’s found her niche and does it well. At her Coachella performance, she appeared wearing what Glamour UK called “the shortest mini skirt we’ve ever seen” combined with brown boots, a loose shimmery tank and gold pleated jacket. This beautiful outfit was custom Roberto Cavalli, a designer who created his own luxury fashion company. Her outfit was a shout out to the designer’s recent passing and a beautiful way to showcase his talented designs. I think I speak for everybody when expressing the yearning to see her future looks.
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Lastly, Charli D’Amelio turned heads with her daring black pairing a black bikini set with a sheer flowy skirt. She’s recently been charming fans with her dancing comeback on TikTok, and now with her Coachella appearances. Attending 2024 Coachella under a Celsius endorsement, she’s been a regular attendee since her initial rise to fame on TikTok. Many praised her look for being outside her usual style especially with her choice of a head scarf and waist chain. Contrasting her previous 2023 Coachella outfit of a flowy top and skirt combo, this year’s revealing look embraces her journey into adulthood. Once known for having the best fitting skinny jeans, it's clear she’s upped her fashion game since then.
Coachella truly captures the essence of comfortable but striking outfits as people have fun planning what they’ll wear months ahead. While many have critiqued the fashion aspect of Coachella, saying that people should be dressed casually for a music festival, others celebrate the individuality it brings out. Fashion is a space for creativity and its intersection with music provides an open and engaging space for attendees to carry out their imaginative fashion desires.
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