The Value of Coachella for Fashion Brands in America

Coachella has become a new fashion week for millennials and Gen Z in the USA

For the fashion system, Coachella is a massive promotional platform for brands in the United States

The first weekend of Coachella has just wrapped up and will resume next weekend on April 22. The most anticipated event of the year for music lovers has returned live after a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic, and those who thought Coachella-mania had faded were proven wrong. The American pop-rock festival is, in fact, a 6-day celebration of music, art, fun, and especially fashion, which this year can also be followed live remotely through YouTube live streams. Over the years, the California desert has become a stage not only for spectacular performances by the most acclaimed international artists of the moment but also for a new and unmissable fashion week extemporanea closely followed by millennials and Gen Z in America, especially thanks to the presence of top celebrities and influencers (and aspiring ones) who regularly stop by Palm Spring (aided by its proximity to Los Angeles). These days, all eyes are on Coachella's extravagant and eclectic styles, with its explosion of colors, sequins, garlands, and party dresses. It's an unmissable event attracting not only the 250,000 attendees in California but people from all over the world who follow it through social media, which for two weeks sees a wave of Coachella-themed content flooding Instagram.

This is how the American music festival has become a perfect launching pad for new trends in the USA, capable of boosting the fashion industry's business. Festivals have always influenced fashion in America, since Woodstock (the legendary rock'n'roll festival in New York) solidified hippy-chic as an aesthetic in '69. Over the years, images of rave parties in the fields and Kate Moss at Glastonbury (an English festival founded in 1970) have propelled tracksuits and Hunter rubber boots into the fashion limelight. More recent trends include crochet tops and biker shorts that have now become mainstream. But Coachella reaffirms itself as the hottest event of the modern festival season, where new looks that will be seen not only at following festivals but also in trendy spring-summer outfits are experimented with and launched. If Coachella, since its inception in '99, has seen its fame grow at an unstoppable pace, it is thanks to its organizers, who have made the California-made brand so recognizable across all five continents. Today, Coachella is synonymous with bohemian outfits and hippie looks reminiscent of Woodstock, along with giant headdresses, body painting, and other exaggerated looks. Another constant of festival outfits is the desire to showcase the female body. In general, the rule is to dare, with cutouts, transparencies, necklines, nets, and weaves. The bolder and more eye-catching the outfit, the higher the chance of being photographed or noticed with selfies on social media. The festival is so closely followed online that there are millions of posts published on Instagram with the hashtag #Coachella, even by people who have no intention of attending the festival but who exploit the trend on Instagram to generate traffic to their profile. 

Music festivals in America become the most important promotional moments for the fashion industry

Thanks to the presence of influencers on-site showcasing unique looks then replicated by their community

Festival fashion trends of the year are also guided by outfits worn by celebs like Kendall Jenner, Beyonce, and Bella Hadid, with social profiles followed by millions of fans. This is why Coachella is a very important event especially for streetwear brands and fast fashion labels. Ebony-Renee Baker, fashion editor for the American online magazine Refinery29, describes it as – a huge business opportunity for brands and influencers: it has become so big that now the whole world follows it. - The chief brand officer of Revolve, Raissa Gerona, described Coachella as – a cult event in America... on par with the Super Bowl – including the budgets brands are willing to unleash. What influencers wear at Coachella can go viral and quickly sell in physical and virtual stores, not only in America but worldwide. For many web stars and starlets, Coachella can be a 'never-ending job'. Maryam Ghafarinia (186,000 followers on Instagram) told the New York Post that she can't attend any concerts during her Coachella participation because she's too busy creating branded content. For each sponsored post, she can earn up to $2000. Amy Luca, senior vice president at Media.Monks, a global marketing and advertising company, stated that these sums are trivial compared to celebrity payouts - When it comes to models and reality stars in America, the fees can reach hundreds of thousands of dollars per post.

Brands consider sponsoring a particular event at the festival or organizing an exclusive party as the key to ensuring visibility, hoping their clothes and/or logo appear in as many social media contents as possible, or even better, become viral. Brands specializing in summer clothing that wink at festival outfits have, in two decades of Coachella, created (and sold) themed clothing for hundreds of thousands of attendees at the California gathering. The same applies to other major American music festivals, including Bonnaroo in Manchester, Tennessee, and Lollapalooza in Chicago, Illinois.

The list of parties and artists sponsored by fashion at Coachella is long: from the amusement park with a Ferris wheel sponsored by Levi's to the villa for TikTokers curated by Hugo

Brand-sponsored events during Coachella are numerous and lavish. This year again, the Neon Carnival remains one of the hottest parties, while the iconic Palm Beach Ferris wheel in the background has a new sponsor: Levi's. StockX, the streetwear reselling site, has set up various art installations and PrettyLittleThing has sponsored exclusive parties along with Tao Group Hospitality. 

The brand Hugo, Hugo Boss's line for younger audiences, which recently built a rebranding strategy around American Gen Z, collaborated with Soho House to create one of the most exclusive events in a villa renamed for the occasion Hugo x Soho Desert House. Paid entry includes unlimited food and drinks and live shows, with a backdrop of a huge art installation: Hugo-branded sunglasses that stood out in numerous shots and videos of this festival edition. Also in Palm Springs, in a sort of 'outside-Coachella', Hugo curated a 'hype house' for TikTok stars that will remain open for 4 days, where young TikTokers (dressed by the German label) can have fun creating branded content, in a space furnished with designer furniture, including a Hugo-branded pool.

Even mid-high fashion retailers without an on-site presence are making their way to grab a slice of this lucrative market: Bloomingdale's has launched a festival fashion section on its e-commerce, promoting smocked crop tops by Staud, Dior visors and Marc Jacobs crossbody bags; while the festival section of Free People (Coachella Edit) includes disco bras and fringe kimonos. Fast fashion brands like Shein and Lulu's also offer an endless choice of outfits. Fast fashion brands know that festival season is a time when American consumers spend: 'The Business of Fashion' reports a 173% increase in online sales of festival fashion items on sites like Boohoo, H&M, Asos, and Nasty Gal, compared to 2019. 

The Revolve Case to Strengthen the Brand in the American Market

No fashion retailer, however, has done more than Revolve to associate its brand with the style and the Coachella scene. It is through the strategy of influencer marketing that the brand has managed to transform crop tops, denim mini shorts, round sunglasses, and boots into a nearly $900 million-a-year business. And if during the pandemic Revolve had to turn to new lines of home and leisurewear, this year it has returned to full swing in launching new festival outfits to flaunt at its Revolve Festival: 'the party within the party' by invitation only for VIPs, which this year includes Tequila 818 cocktails produced by Kendall Jenner and unlimited ice creams sponsored by the fashion brand Good American, along with, of course, two days of 'outside-Coachella' shows.

Even luxury brands are now paying attention to Coachella's quirky styles, - stated Tiffany Reid, senior vice president of fashion at Bustle Digital Group, because what - is considered experimental at first, then becomes a trend. - Cult Gaia, the Los Angeles-based label founded by art director Jasmin Larian Hekmat, was born right at Coachella. The company started selling garlands at the festival, then created its line of bags, shoes, and cut-out mini dresses. - If you create memorable memories at festivals, you will always be remembered as the brand you wore - stated Larian. - It's a great marketing strategy to occupy a little space in people's minds.

In America, Coachella is a true incubator of spring-summer fashion trends

Style this year will shift towards sexier and more colorful outfits - said Reid, attributing this new trend to the post-pandemic desire to dress more sensually, as well as the current obsession with early 2000s styles, which has recently exploded among Gen Z in America. – Cut-out tops and mini dresses will have a boom well beyond the festival, as will neon and electric colors, such as shocking green and bright oranges, - said Reid. - The aesthetic influence of the American cult series by HBO Euphoria still dominates, - added Reid. - To which is attributed the sale of transparent shirts, bold dresses, and miniskirts, among this year's bestsellers. Other trends seen at Coachella included neon green sheath dresses, crochet garments and accessories, and the big return of low-rise jeans - continued Gerona. Larian suggests that fashion brands focus on unique designs that can stand out from the crowd and make the wearer pop on Instagram or TikTok. This year, her brand, Cult Gaia, even collaborated with the American doll brand Bratz, to create a colorful festival fashion collection with exclusive pieces, including a $500 hand-beaded butterfly top. 

Another trend shift that emerged this year is a hippie style diluted with a mix of athleisure and gorpcore; baggy cargo pants paired with trendy tops and sneakers have somewhat replaced the more famous festival Texans. Finally, although it's challenging to combine festival style with a sustainable fashion approach, summer music festival-goers have been seeking (and will increasingly seek) pre-loved options. - A growing number of Americans gravitates towards used clothing or vintage shopping - stated the famous Los Angeles star stylist, Karla Welch, who recently curated a pop-up store created for the ThredUp festival.