By Annemarie Marconi 

People can say what they want about the gaudiness of the annual Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, but there is a good chance those same people would jump at the chance to attend the famed concert series held in Indio, California. After all, who could resist the countless opportunities only Coachella can offer, like unashamedly rocking a flower crown, spotting celebrities, feasting on legitimately insane food (fried mozzarella stick grilled cheese, anyone?) and wearing the latest fashion that would make any ‘70s Dead-Head envious? Oh, did I forget to mention the concerts? It is funny how a music and arts festival can become about so much more than music and art.

In recent years — whether thanks to social media spam or celebrity attendance — Coachella has taken on a culture all its own. A huge part of that culture is the fashion. Ideally reminiscent of the bohemian-hipster vibe of Woodstock, Coachella fashion is all about finding a delicate balance — comfortable and indifferent, but revealing and outlandish. Several stores, including H&M, even put out entire spring lines dedicated to the festival. Beauty and fashion bloggers, often sent to the event by corporations or brands, upload tons of content during “festival season” to inspire their followers. Celebrities also jump on the laid-back-style bandwagon during the event. So, all of this fashion frenzy begs the question: what exactly does one wear to Coachella?

Let us start from the bottom — the shoes of Coachella. Several women ditched the classic flat-soled sandal for a pair of short, black booties. Sarah Hyland was seen sporting leather ankle-boots with her skirt and crop-top ensemble. Victoria’s Secret model Alessandra Ambrósio wore an almost identical pair on the same day. Men hopped on the trend too, as David and Victoria Beckham’s teenage son Brooklyn had on a pair of all-black Vans. Thick, dark and chunky footwear ruled the day at Coachella, and for good reason. Coachella is an outdoor festival, and the concerts do not tend to have seating; if you are going to be spending a lot of time on your feet, it makes sense to wear comfortable shoes.

In terms of shorts and skirts, nearly everything was high waisted. Long gone are the 2000s days of low-rise everything. This decade will be remembered as the years when shorts were not high enough until they covered the belly button. Paris Hilton wore a gorgeous, breezy white lace midi-skirt with a waistband that practically came up to her ribcage. Taylor Swift’s newfound besties and band of sisters, Haim, rocked a more casual look with destroyed, high-waisted denim shorts and tucked in t-shirts.

Dancer Julianne Hough wore a bright yellow romper with a notably high waist — a piece that complemented her new cotton candy hairstyle effectively.

At this year’s Coachella, the infamous flower crown was replaced with a broad, floppy sunhat. Aaron Paul’s wife, Lauren Parsekian, wore a black, cloth one, and that couple has ample reason to be trendy at Coachella — the two actually met at the festival a couple of years ago. John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s son, Sean Lennon, wore a nearly identical one, proving that the trend can work on guys and girls. Several A-list stars, such as Justin Bieber, Fergie and Lea Michele also displayed black, floppy fedoras at the festival.

But in a sea of homogenous hippy-types, did anyone stand out? Well, Disney channel star Bella Thorne’s outfit reflected last year’s fashion trends. Her low-rise, tight-fitting denim shorts, chunky flower crown and white sandals could have been pulled straight out of a 2014 Coachella look book. We will forgive her. Kylie Jenner also made waves at Coachella. Besides being publically called out by Jack White for doing Coachella in the most bougie way possible, she departed from the flower-child look for a sportier vibe. She traded a floppy sunhat for a baseball cap, trendy ankle booties for a pair of sneaker wedges. Her long, teal tresses also helped her stand out in the crowd.

While many Fordham students dream of attending Coachella, the closest a lot of us will get is Spring Weekend.
However, Spring Weekend can be just as cool as Coachella. After all, we get to sleep in dorm rooms with our friends instead of in parking lots with strangers.
We get to grow closer as a Fordham community with people we may actually see again when the concert is over. And, if we take a page out of the stylebook of this year’s Coachella, we can even have the fun of dressing the part, too.