Has Coachella become a circus of spectacle?
Is Coachella just the fashion show Palm Springs never knew it needed?
After watching what transpired at the music festival over the weekend, Coachella now apparently mirrors more of a circus than a concert. It's like the twilight zone of fashion week.
You May Also Like
Among the sea of bunny rabbit masks, men and women with overalls matched with leopard-print leggings, cowboy boots paired with hoodies, it was as if attendees were in an all out war to see who could look the most outrageous. There they were, cooing toward the cameras, preening for attention as if they, too, were famous.
Certainly they are. Everyone operates his or her own reality shows now, zapped onto Snapchat and live on Instagram.
It's like the twilight zone of fashion week.
For a festival that promotes being young, wild and free, it's ironic that Coachella has become overtly commercial, one in which you need to pay to play.
In the past few years alone, the festival has bubbled up these inauthentic antics, but social media amplifies it more than ever before.
When Pearl Jam accidentally launched Coachella in 1993 in Indio, California, it wasn't to create a spectacle. It was a movement to boycott Ticketmaster, a company that had been controlling music venues. It was a total act of defiance. Little did they know that two decades later, the event would be synonymous with flower crowns, choker necklaces and a "Coachella Look" which can cost thousands to achieve.
It's why brands like H&M have capitalized on the festival aesthetic. The retailer debuted its "H&M Loves Coachella" collection this year to bank on the commercial affair. Others, like Wildfox, see Coachella as instrumental in building its brand identity.
It's a smart move for brands. In 2014 alone, Nielsen reported that over 14.7 million millennials attend a music festival.
But truly, how authentic can you be when your entire aesthetic has become so mainstream?
As reported by the New York Post, some women are paying up to $20,000 to prepare for the weekend festivities.
“It’s fun for me to feel cool,” one woman said. “You get down with people you normally wouldn’t speak to. They wouldn’t normally have access to you.”
She's only one of thousands who flock to the desert to pursue and feel "cool."
And what better way to achieve this than by demanding attention with your over-the-top outfit?
Fur together with a tank top? Good. A striped onesie with a feather headdress? Even better. Louis Vuitton doo rag with matching monokini? Flawless.
Not saying all are guilty of being a part of this campy camp. There are plenty who attend for the music and the experience. And I'm not saying it's a sin to express yourselves however you like. If Dylanlex chokers that are favorites to the likes of Kendall Jenner are your thing, by all means, go for it. If your true personal style is to wear cutoff shorts with a tie-dyed caftan, then be your authentic self.
Or if you're truly a desert princess, like Vanessa Hudgens, totally go for that $190 manicure.
But if getting photographed and coming to a festival to showcase how loud you can be is more your thing, and if wearing fringe and lacy tops with Ronald McDonald wigs is to get yourself on some blog, then please, stay home.
What's spoiled the entire festivities aren't those who genuinely love self-expression and music. It's not even the FOMO-inducing social media posts documented on socials. But it is, indeed, the peacocks who show up dressed for a desert parade, sashaying down the venue wearing anything and everything for attention.
Coachella now has more social engagement than ever, with Twitter reporting 3.8 million tweets about Coachella this past weekend. It's safe to say that this peacock plague will only become a bigger monster.
Which is totally okay, for me. Instead of competing for attention, (I mean, how exhausting?) I'll just stay in the comfort of my own small Brooklyn apartment, watch the acts on YouTube and find my own flower crown filter on Snapchat.
That, my friends, is a better way to enjoy Coachella hell.
Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.
David joined the Mashable team as its first fashion hire. He's written for the Wall Street Journal, Elle, GQ, Harper's Bazaar, Esquire, Details, Nylon, Refinery29, Fashionista, and covered the men's market at Women's Wear Daily. David has appeared on E!, Vh1, the Style network, and was a stylist at Capitol records.
