Mid-April at USC means rising temperatures, graduation prep, finals, and the annual migration from L.A. to the Coachella Valley.
USC Students and Angelenos alike are making the two-hour drive to Palm Springs to see their favorite artists perform. This year, headliners include Lady Gaga, Charli XCX, Green Day, Post Malone, and Travis Scott. For many, however, the performers take a backseat to the real stars of the show: outfits!
When it comes to crafting the perfect outfit, festival goers’ preparations can span anywhere from a couple of minutes to months of advance planning.
This year’s trends forecast micro shorts, sheer fabric, and modern takes on bohemian festival staples.
“I think it’s gonna be way more casual than it used to be. Because I think that’s what was happening last year,” Laura Rosa Mendes, a junior, predicts. “I remember being like extravagant colors, you know, more rave vibes, but I feel like it’s going to be more casual. Like maybe some jorts, a tank top, very basic, but fun jewelry to spice it up.”
When talking about the Coachella aesthetic of years past, it seemed everyone had one person on their mind.
“I see pictures of James Charles every year with his a** out,” Calvin Lundin said.
Mendes echoed these sentiments.
“I used to think of James Charles and his outfits, because that’s just what was showing up on my Instagram page,” she said.
But long before the makeup influencer, what did Coachella used to be? Statement necklaces, fringe, big belts, and flower crowns are all what Vogue categorizes as the defining trends of Coachella over time.
Do these hold up today?
We asked two Thornton students studying popular music their thoughts.
“I mainly think of 2016-2017, like hippie, that’s what’s in my mind, forever, as Coachella. But I don’t know what the vibe is now, I feel like I’m not up to date on the trends,” said O Warwick.
For Lundin, fast-fashion retail companies like Shein and Fashion Nova come to mind.
Although they both claim they’re not up to date with the trends, their ideas and planned outfits for casual Coachella outfits are spot on.
Lundin plans to elevate their everyday street clothes with accessories.
“I’m wearing army green cargo shorts that are a little bit ripped up. I thrifted them a few years ago, and then I’m wearing my friend’s band shirt, and I have some necklaces on as well. Over the shirt, I have a button-down long sleeve that’s gray with white stripes on it. And then I have white vans on with some blue and some brown. And then I have my earrings in as well,” Lundin said.
Warwick has similar plans.
“I’m wearing a graphic tee. It’s ‘But I’m a Cheerleader,’ and I’m wearing my jorts, and my Reeboks,” Warwick said.
However, sophomore Wallis Shriver plans to put more effort into her look. She’s going for an old-school Coachella outfit.
“I feel like it kind of goes along with the hippie culture of the 70s and music festivals and how people wear flowy, free-form things. But also it is the desert and it’s super hot out, so people are dressing in boots and things like that so they can walk around in the dirt and sand. But I think it’s a mixture of practicality and just wearing things to express yourself,” Shriver said.
We all know the phrase “pictures or it didn’t happen,” and that couldn’t be more true at Coachella. People take festival fashion seriously, so as the Instagram posts flood in these next two weekends, keep an eye out for the outfits to see whether people went old school boho or new school casual.