The latest Coachella festival sparked discourse about the new direction celebrity fashion took.
By Paige Ganim
The 2023 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival was nothing out of the ordinary. The Palm Springs desert was still blazing hot. The food remained overpriced. Influencers shipped in from fast fashion clothing brands flooded the field. However, unlike years prior, many celebrity attendees opted for simpler attire.
It was a sharp pivot from the boho-chic aesthetic that defined Coachella attire in the 2010s. Floral-printed shirts, fringe skirts and DIY floral crowns pervaded the scene for nearly a decade. However, whether it is the role of the quiet luxury trend or the effects of the pandemic, the loud undertones that once defined many Coachella looks have dissipated.
The festival’s looks over the past two years demonstrate an ushering of a “more minimalist era of festival dressing,” reported British Vogue — a change that could stem from reverberations from larger fashion trends.
On the one hand, it could be an effect of the Covid-19 pandemic, which shut the festival down for two years. In that time loungewear and athleisure boomed, as sales for sweatpants and leggings spiked during quarantine, reported Business of Fashion.
That trend persisted post-pandemic. Many likely were still wafting in pandemic-induced lethargy and settled firmly into a routine of opting for plain, comfortable clothes.
On the other hand, the quiet luxury movement could also be a key factor, considering it was last “winter’s hottest trend,” reported Business of Fashion.
The aesthetic is a subtle tactic adjacent to “stealth wealth” — a mixture of wanting to flaunt one’s status while also recognizing the current economic climate, reported Business of Fashion.
However, Coachella’s minimalism might imply more than an inclination to follow macro-level trends.
It likely is a PR strategy for celebrities to dress down because while “money talks, wealth whispers,” said @saralesneski on TikTok.
For example, Kendall Jenner, who leaned into the boho-chic aesthetic circa 2015, shocked the Internet when she posted photos of her “anti-Coachella” look, reported British Vogue.
Jenner’s all-black ensemble consisted of St Agni embellished straight-leg trousers, a Skims outdoor mock neck tank, St Agni flat leather sandals and a Miu Miu leather pocket bag.
Despite its simplicity, Jenner — like other celebrities — carefully curated her outfit, just not in the same vein as the “dress to impress” attitude of years prior.
That attitude takes on a new form today with the saturation of influencers and how it changes what celebrities feel they have to prove. An “A-Lister” like Jenner knows she solidified her place in the industry and has nothing to substantiate in a sea of influencers, except that she is not one of them.
Coachella serves as a medium of celebrity access that the public hadn’t had before, but this public access is one of the biggest distinguishing factors between a celebrity and an influencer. Celebrities understand this paradox, and going the “stealth wealth” route of festival attire is the way to crack the equation. Minimalism allows celebrities to highlight their status to distinguish themselves from influencers.
It’s the best of both worlds. They achieve the “cool girl vibe” without attracting animosity from the public for “trying too hard.” They appear relatable but also hint that they are above Coachella. They’re saving the big looks for the Met Gala — most of the influencers at Coachella can’t say the same.
Regardless of the trigger for this change, long gone are the extravagant hippie looks that ruled the 2010s. A new era of Coachella is here.
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