Desert Chic: The Best of Coachella 2024 Fashion

April 15, 2024

#Coachella

As the golden hues of Coachella approach us once again, we find ourselves amidst a dazzling array of music and fashion that marks the return to the beloved desert festival. This year, we’ve witnessed Lana Del Rey's beautiful vocals, Tyler The Creator's boundary-pushing beats, and Doja Cat’s mesmerizing performances set against the backdrop of an ever-evolving fashion landscape. The festival grounds, a harmonious blend of sound and color, play host to style visionaries like Alix Earle, Zoi Lerma, and the ever-glamorous Paris Hilton, each adding their unique flair to the Coachella tapestry.

Yet, amidst this vivid present, a wistful nostalgia for the old Coachella lingers in the air. I find myself reminiscing about a time when the festival's fashion narrative was less about racing through trend cycles at breakneck speeds and more about a shared style experience, a communal sartorial statement that united us all. There was an essence, an atmosphere that once made Coachella a true escape—a single, defining trend that we all rode like a wave, together.

Kendall & Kylie Jenner, 2015

Today, as the trends splinter and the collective fashion heartbeat seems to skip erratically, the essence of that shared adventure has diluted. It feels as though everyone is crafting their own micro-trends, leading to a collage of styles that, while diverse and vibrant, misses the cohesion of past Coachellas. In this new era, where individualism in fashion reigns supreme, the communal style narrative has quieted.

Gigi Hadid, 2015

Coachella of 2015-2017 brings to mind a particular kind of excitement that pulsated through the air—it was the era of celebrity couple sightings. These were the years when spotting famous duos in their festival best wasn’t just a possibility; it was an expectation. The thrill of seeing star-powered couples, arm-in-arm, weaving through the crowds in coordinated outfits, was akin to catching a live scene from a glamorous movie set in the wild.

Gigi Hadid & Cody Simpson, 2016

Vanessa Hudgens & Austin Butler, 2016

Selena Gomez & The Weeknd, 2017

It's interesting to observe how Burning Man has attempted to capture the spirit once inherent to Coachella. However, its appeal, tailored to a niche crowd of wooks, tech bros, and yuppies, skews towards the extremes and fails to cast the same wide net of allure that once enshrouded the fields of Indio.

Nevertheless, as much as I yearn for the Coachella of simpler times, I must applaud the celebrities and influencers of this year who have paid homage to the festival’s golden days. Their fashion choices resonate with a certain timelessness, a nod to the Coachella that once was. These nostalgic looks, sprinkled throughout the festival, remind us that fashion is cyclical, and what is old will inevitably be revered again.

Join me on this sartorial journey as we celebrate throwback vibes and honor the new trends that made Coachella 2024 a mosaic of individual style statements. While the collective fashion narrative may have shifted, the essence of Coachella still lives on in these moments of retrospective brilliance. Let's explore the outfits that have not only captured the spirit of the festival but also those that have rekindled the magic of Coachella's prime.