For years, the Coachella uniform has felt like a legally binding contract. Attendees must wear at least one item of floaty mesh or macrame knit, bottoms (if you must) should be flared and tops generally fall into two caps: frayed old metal band T-shirts or bikinis. Cowboy hats, optional.
At some point everyone, celebrities included, started to follow this prescriptive sartorial pattern. As Coachella grew in popularity, its rigid uniform became cheugy and formulaic with influencers latching onto its ubiquitous style like leeches.
Playing dress up at Coachella is no longer the status symbol it used to be. In 2023, now that a mere ticket to Coachella is no longer as coveted as it once was, A-listers have had to find new ways to make headlines. Question is, how do you do that at an event where most attendees are, let’s face it, still probably trying their hardest? Stop trying altogether. Or, at least, give the impression that you have.
It was evident this year in the outfits worn by the reigning queen of Coachella Kendall Jenner, who looked more like she was on an airport stopover than attending a festival in the desert. Jenner was pictured in two pared back outfits: first, when traversing the Coachella festival site with rumoured boyfriend, pop mega-star Bad Bunny, she was spotted in a plain white muscle tee and black jeans. It wasn’t clear if she knew she was at Coachella or had just got lost on her way to an audition forThe Bear. Then, for her second outfit, she stayed monochromatic in a simple black cut-out vest top and black low-waisted trousers, with a black shoulder purse and strappy sandals to match.
It’s so funny to observe how dressing up for Coachella has become uncool amongst celebrities so they can separate themselves from influencers https://t.co/KNuGDoso14
— katie🧃 (@katiemedleyy) April 18, 2023
Such simple items don’t exactly exude affluence or fame, but that’s the point — it’s stealth wealth, which utilises “IYKYK” dressing in an era when gaudy prints and overly obvious labels are no longer cool. And if you know then you’d know that Kendall’s whole outfit (of three items) is from Australian minimalist brand St Agni and worth over $900 altogether (and that’s not even including the handbag or sunglasses, which are likely her vintage Gucci faves).
Celebrity stylist Jay Hines reckons there’s a chance it could be to do with ease ( “sometimes prioritising comfort in the scorching heat over wearing the full ‘Coachella’ fit wins” he told us), but it’s likely a well constructed way of standing out against the overdressed crowd. Less is more, “it gets to a point where standing out and looking different is actually normal,” Hines says. “So don’t do too much, and you will stand out.” Kendall’s not exactly leading the style set though. Last year, her younger sister, Kylie, rocked up to the festival in an outfit which looked more fit for popping to the local corner shop. She matched bestie Hailey Bieber in a white vest top and light denim jeans, paired with an oversized leather jacket and long, natural hair. The only accessory? A face mask.
📸 | Hailey Baldwin Bieber & Kylie Jenner seen exiting day one of the Coachella in Indio, CA - April 15, 2022 pic.twitter.com/ENuw34NWVz
— Stefan (@ohsothedrama) April 16, 2022
Bieber this year also turned up in a white vest top and baggy blue jeans that were literally stained with mud. Singer Shawn Mendes wore a printed tee and khakis (khakis!), Camilla Cabello was in all-brown, oversized double denim and Suki Waterhouse looked like she was going to a garden party. Even Emma Chamberlain, who once ruled the girls of YouTuber generations past, has changed her game. Emma was well known for putting effort into her Coachella looks circa 2018-2019 and once took her accessorising game so seriously that she would customise her pair of Nike Air Force 1s, adorn her outfits with glittery makeup and sparkly jewellery, and braid her hair in the custom Coachella style (double dutch, obvs).
But Chamberlain is a fashion girlie now. Metallic skirts and feather-hemmed trousers have moved over for white, industrial-esque two pieces, and bikini tops and multi-coloured flares have made way for denim mini dresses with minimal accessories. It’s giving nothing, which has become... everything.
