{"id":1892521,"date":"2026-04-20T16:07:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T13:07:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1892521"},"modified":"2026-04-20T16:07:00","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T13:07:00","slug":"when-exactly-did-the-coachella-aesthetic-become-so-soulless","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1892521","title":{"rendered":"When exactly did the Coachella aesthetic become so soulless?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/1200\/112-172-1971-1314\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/3\/1443606.jpg&#8221;]<\/p>\n<article class=\"main-article standard \">\n<div class=\"article-main-content article-wrapper has-media-but-its-an-image\" data-status=\"loaded\" data-primary-article=\"true\" data-url=\"\/fashion\/article\/70114\/1\/when-exactly-coachella-aesthetic-soulless-sheinchella-influencers\" data-article-id=\"70114\">\n<header class=\"article-header has-portrait-image no-media\">\n<div class=\"wrapper dg-max-width\">\n<div class=\"inner\">\n<figure class=\"main-img has-figcaption\" data-img-aspect-ratio-type=\"portrait\" data-img-aspect-ratio=\"0.74\" data-template=\"Standard Article\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"portrait\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Kendall and Kylie Jenner, Coachella 2015\" class=\"img\" height=\"3000\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/1280\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/3\/1443606.jpg\" width=\"2233\"><\/span><\/span><figcaption class=\"img-caption\"><span class=\"inner\"><span class=\"credit\">Photography Papjuice\/Bauer-Griffin\/GC Images via <span class=\"nowrap\">Getty Images<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<aside class=\"meta\">\n<div class=\"inner\"><time datetime=\"2026-04-20T16:07:00+00:00\" class=\"timestamp\" title=\"20 April 2026\"><span class=\"month\">April<\/span>\u00a0<br \/>\n<span class=\"day\" data-day=\"20\">20,<\/span>\u00a0<br \/>\n<span class=\"year\">2026<\/span><\/time><\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<div class=\"titles\">\n<div class=\"tags\">\n<div class=\"sections\"><a class=\"category vertical - fashion\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/fashion\">Fashion<\/a><br \/>\n\/<br \/>\n<a class=\"series\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/opinion\">Opinion<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"standard-tag-container\"><a class=\"standard-category\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/fashion\">Fashion<\/a> \/<br \/>\n<a class=\"standard-series\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/opinion\">Opinion<\/a><\/div>\n<h1 class=\"title\"><span>When exactly did the Coachella aesthetic become <span class=\"nowrap\">so soulless?<\/span><\/span><\/h1>\n<div class=\"standfirst\">\n<h2>Influencer culture has turned Coachella into a stale parody of its <span class=\"nowrap\">former self<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<p><time datetime=\"2026-04-20T16:07:00+00:00\" class=\"timestamp\" title=\"20 April 2026\"><span class=\"month\">April<\/span>\u00a0<br \/>\n<span class=\"day\" data-day=\"20\">20,<\/span>\u00a0<br \/>\n<span class=\"year\">2026<\/span><\/time><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><time datetime=\"2026-04-20T16:07:00+00:00\" class=\"timestamp\" title=\"20 April 2026\"><span class=\"month\">April<\/span>\u00a0<br \/>\n<span class=\"day\" data-day=\"20\">20,<\/span>\u00a0<br \/>\n<span class=\"year\">2026<\/span><\/time><\/p>\n<div class=\"providers\">\n<div class=\"contributors\"><span class=\"contributor\" data-contributor-role=\"Text\"><span class=\"contributor-role\">Text<\/span><a class=\"contributor-name\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/user\/SophieWilson\">Sophie Wilson<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"article-body-container\">\n<div class=\"article-body wrapper\">\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p><span>Music festivals are meant to be a bit disgusting. If you\u2019ve never waded through ankle-deep mud to a festering, overused portaloo, have you ever really lived? This griminess has left its muddy footprints all over festival fashion, too. It\u2019s Keira Knightley and Jamie Dornan in mud-splattered jeans, or Sienna Miller draped in a grey hoodie with an unlit cigarette drooping from her mouth. It\u2019s weathered, functional and slightly undone.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>While British festivals conjure images of mud slides, flooded tents and K-holes, their US counterparts are much more sanitised \u2013 and so is their style. When you think of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/tag\/coachella\">Coachella fashion<\/a>, you probably picture flowy boho dresses, flower crowns, fringe jackets and the culturally appropriative headwear that certain celebs would rather you forget about.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Coachella fashion has aged like a landfill indie band. What was once fun now feels stale and cringe. Each April, celebrities and influencers are helicoptered into the desert with full glam squads \u2013 not a splash of mud in sight. The process is smooth and frictionless, with every moment optimised to look good on screen. Each outfit is meticulously curated to appear free-spirited, which obviously misses the point, and the result is a largely soulless facsimile of festival fashion.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><span>\u201cWith the rise of Instagram in the early 2010s, Coachella fashion was no longer just about the clothes. It was about content\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span>It wasn\u2019t always this way. Photos from the festival\u2019s first-ever edition in 1999 reveal a sea of t-shirts, vests, sneakers and jean shorts. Festival-goers dressed practically for three days in the sweltering desert (temperatures soared to 48 degrees celsius that year) and their style reflected the laidback ethos of rock fans at the time. By the mid-00s, after<\/span><em><span> Rolling Stone<\/span><\/em><span> dubbed it \u201cAmerica\u2019s best festival\u201d, Coachella started to attract celebrities like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/paris-hilton\">Paris Hilton<\/a>, Nichole Richie and Mischa Barton. Their boho-style paisley mini dresses, suede fringe jackets, jean shorts and patterned bandanas were snapped by the paparazzi who followed them, establishing what we now think of as \u2018Coachella fashion\u2019. It wasn\u2019t long before fast fashion brands like Forever 21, Topshop and H&amp;M were cashing in on the trend. Today, Coachella influencer fit pics still tend to look more like Urban Outfitters catalogues than fun, authentic festival moments.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>With the rise of Instagram in the early 2010s, Coachella fashion was no longer just about the clothes. It was about content. In 2015, fast fashion company Revolve launched its own exclusive invite-only festival near Coachella, which has become one of the most coveted invitations on the influencer calendar \u2013 a hotspot for networking, content creation and celeb spotting. This year\u2019s tightly controlled guestlist included <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/teyana-taylor\">Teyana Taylor<\/a>, BLACKPINK\u2019s Lisa and Gabbriette.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Since the mid-2010s, the Coachella influencer economy has only grown, giving it the derisive nickname \u2018the influencer Olympics\u2019. Today, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.themirror.com\/entertainment\/music\/brands-influencer-money-spent-coachella-1780978\">marketers\u2019 budgets can<\/a> \u201creach into the high six figures to over a million dollars\u201d for high-profile influencers to attend the festival. The goal is to create fashion moments that live on beyond the festival itself, but it\u2019s hard to imagine these looks having as much moodboard longevity as <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/kate-moss\"><span>Kate Moss<\/span><\/a><span> or <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/alexa-chung\"><span>Alexa Chung<\/span><\/a><span> trudging through the mud at Glasto. Brands want to take advantage of Coachella\u2019s proximity to culture and visibility on social media, but the results feel sterile and blatantly mercenary.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<figure class=\"inline-img expandable dev-view-hide\" data-img=\"18443b26-056c-405d-bd2d-b43201134a62\" data-src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/2000\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/3\/1443604.jpg\" data-img-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\" data-img-aspect-ratio=\"1.48\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Coachella 2001\" class=\"img\" height=\"2029\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/786\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/3\/1443604.jpg\" width=\"3000\"><\/span><\/span><figcaption class=\"img-caption\"><span class=\"caption\">Coachella in 2001<\/span><span class=\"credit\">Photography Tim Mosenfelder via <span class=\"nowrap\">Getty Images<\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p><span>Festival dressing is most fun and innovative when it balances style and practicality: chaotic layering, overstuffed crossbody bags and smudges of last night\u2019s makeup. It shouldn\u2019t work, but it does, because the best looks feel lived in. Inventiveness springs from inconvenience. But when influencers are transported in and out of the festival with a team of stylists, that gritty charm is lost. Even the crowds look bored. Everyone is watching themselves being watched.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>It all represents a wider overreliance on nostalgia and referencing rather than creating something new. Today\u2019s festival fashion code is countercultural and bohemian, drawing from the hippy subculture of the 1960s and 70s, but it couldn\u2019t be further removed from the anticonsumerist attitudes which these movements embodied. It\u2019s an imitation of an imitation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>While Coachella brings together some of the biggest artists in the world, the broader culture has become increasingly fragmented. Lacking any unifying trend or subculture, we are forced to rely on old references, turning style into a costume as disposable as an ultra-fast fashion haul. Coachella influencer fashion is proof that every moment of our real, living, breathing, partying lives can be optimised for the algorithm. It\u2019s no longer a trend, but a dull cover version that never sounds quite as good as the original.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"newsletter-inline-last\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-small\">\n<div class=\"inner\">\n<h1 class=\"newsletter-title\">Escape the algorithm! Get The Drop<\/h1>\n<div class=\"meta-row\">\n<p class=\"meta\">Get must-see stories direct to your inbox every weekday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/privacy-policy\" class=\"meta-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\nPrivacy policy<br \/>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"confirmation\" aria-live=\"polite\">\n<p class=\"confirmation-title\">Thank you. You have been subscribed<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/privacy-policy\" class=\"meta-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\nPrivacy policy<br \/>\n<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<footer class=\"article-footer\">\n<div class=\"wrapper\">\n<div class=\"article-series\">\n<h4 class=\"heading\">More on these topics<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-series\"><a class=\"series\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/fashion\">Fashion<\/a><a class=\"series\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/opinion\">Opinion<\/a><a class=\"series\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/tag\/coachella\">Coachella<\/a><a class=\"series\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/tag\/festival\">Festival<\/a><a class=\"series\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/tag\/music-festival\">Music festival<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/footer>\n<div class=\"grid\">\n<div class=\"lava-lamp\">\n<div class=\"lava-lamp-text-container\">\n<h3 class=\"lava-lamp-subheading\">Expand your creative community and connect with 15,000 creatives from around the world.<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"grid section-header\">\n<div class=\"section-header__link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/fashion\/article\/70114\/1\/fashion\"><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"section-header__title\">READ MORE<\/h2>\n<p><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"grid tag-article-list\">\n<div class=\"swiper swiper-latest\">\n<div class=\"swiper-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"swiper-slide list-element\">\n<div class=\"scard-latest__section\">\n<div class=\"card-latest__wrapper\"><a class=\"card-latest\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/fashion\/article\/70051\/1\/what-went-down-at-nike-toma-in-atlanta\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"card-latest__img-wrapper\">\n<p class=\"optional-paragraph\"> Nike <\/p>\n<p><span class=\"image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Nike Toma in Atlanta\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/480\/0-385-2720-1809\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/3\/1443043.jpg\"><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"card-latest__content\">\n<h3 class=\"card-latest__title\">What went down at Nike Toma in Atlanta<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><a class=\"card-latest\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/fashion\/gallery\/36952\/0\/coachella-2026-best-dressed-weekend-two\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"card-latest__img-wrapper\"><span class=\"image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Coachella 2026: Best dressed weekend two\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/480\/0-204-2000-1330\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/3\/1443588.jpg\"><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"card-latest__content\">\n<h3 class=\"card-latest__title\">The same, but different: All the celeb style from Coachella weekend two<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><a class=\"card-latest\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/fashion\/article\/70106\/1\/moncler-have-a-puffy-summer-jamie-dornan-moss-freud-loewe-burberry\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"card-latest__img-wrapper\"><span class=\"image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Moncler Have a Puffy Summer\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/480\/0-257-2399-1596\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/3\/1443491.jpg\"><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"card-latest__content\">\n<h3 class=\"card-latest__title\">Moncler is coming for summer with its line of little puffs<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"swiper-slide list-element\">\n<div class=\"scard-latest__section\">\n<div class=\"card-latest__wrapper\"><a class=\"card-latest\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/fashion\/article\/70050\/1\/nikes-wild-card-team-kits-are-already-in-action\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"card-latest__img-wrapper\">\n<p class=\"optional-paragraph\"> Nike <\/p>\n<p><span class=\"image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Nike Friendlies\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/480\/0-573-2999-1995\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/3\/1443032.jpg\"><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"card-latest__content\">\n<h3 class=\"card-latest__title\">Nike\u2019s \u2018wild card\u2019 Team Kits are already in action<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><a class=\"card-latest\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/fashion\/article\/70101\/1\/papa-yorick-westerkamp-gay-fantasy-sailors-maidens-pirates-the-patchwork-family\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"card-latest__img-wrapper\"><span class=\"image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"(PAPA) Yorick\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/480\/228-38-2022-1345\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/3\/1443471.jpg\"><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"card-latest__content\">\n<h3 class=\"card-latest__title\">This Dutch designer\u2019s \u2018gay fantasy\u2019 is full of farmers, pirates and sailors<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><a class=\"card-latest\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/fashion\/article\/70054\/1\/nike-airmaxxing-with-singer-songwriter-simone-ruth\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"card-latest__img-wrapper\">\n<p class=\"optional-paragraph\"> Nike <\/p>\n<p><span class=\"image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"[IMAGE 4] 09_Simone_040 1\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/480\/0-445-2399-1596\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/3\/1443064.jpg\"><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"card-latest__content\">\n<h3 class=\"card-latest__title\">Airmaxxing with singer-songwriter Simone Ruth<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"swiper-slide list-element\">\n<div class=\"scard-latest__section\">\n<div class=\"card-latest__wrapper\"><a class=\"card-latest\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/fashion\/article\/70090\/1\/rosalia-lux-world-tour-barcelona-fashion-religious-street-style-fans\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"card-latest__img-wrapper\"><span class=\"image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"TampioNiko_Rosalia_28\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/480\/0-165-2272-1511\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/3\/1443424.jpg\"><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"card-latest__content\">\n<h3 class=\"card-latest__title\">Rosal\u00eda is my religion: Sacred street style from Lux Tour Barcelona<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><a class=\"card-latest\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/fashion\/article\/70044\/1\/oakley-s-new-field-gear-line-collection\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"card-latest__img-wrapper\">\n<p class=\"optional-paragraph\">Oakley <\/p>\n<p><span class=\"image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"HEADER\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/480\/202-0-2538-1688\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/2\/1442950.jpg\"><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"card-latest__content\">\n<h3 class=\"card-latest__title\">Oakley\u2019s new collection was designed to weather the storm<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><a class=\"card-latest\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/fashion\/article\/70053\/1\/airmaxxing-with-multidisciplinary-creative-jake-elias\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"card-latest__img-wrapper\">\n<p class=\"optional-paragraph\"> Nike <\/p>\n<p><span class=\"image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"[IMAGE 5] 05_Jacob_012\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/480\/0-437-2399-1596\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/3\/1443062.jpg\"><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"card-latest__content\">\n<h3 class=\"card-latest__title\">Airmaxxing with multidisciplinary creative Jake Elias<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"swiper-slide list-element\">\n<div class=\"scard-latest__section\">\n<div class=\"card-latest__wrapper\"><a class=\"card-latest\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/fashion\/article\/70083\/1\/best-fashion-exhibitions-guide-spring-2026-schiaparelli-helmut-lang\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"card-latest__img-wrapper\"><span class=\"image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Catwalk_ Alexander McQueen Spring_Summer 1999\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/480\/204-171-1305-868\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/3\/1443344.jpg\"><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"card-latest__content\">\n<h3 class=\"card-latest__title\">The best fashion exhibitions to see for spring 2026<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><a class=\"card-latest\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/fashion\/article\/70077\/1\/coachella-2026-best-dressed-stars-sabrina-carpenter-fakemink-sombr-fka-twigs\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"card-latest__img-wrapper\"><span class=\"image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Coachella 2026 weekend one best dressed\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/480\/79-533-1860-1237\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/3\/1443273.jpg\"><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"card-latest__content\">\n<h3 class=\"card-latest__title\">All the best dressed stars at Coachella 2026<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><a class=\"card-latest\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/fashion\/article\/70052\/1\/airmaxxing-with-new-york-designer-annie-lian\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"card-latest__img-wrapper\">\n<p class=\"optional-paragraph\"> Nike <\/p>\n<p><span class=\"image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"[IMAGE 2] 03_Annie_032 1\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/480\/0-505-2399-1596\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/3\/1443059.jpg\"><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"card-latest__content\">\n<h3 class=\"card-latest__title\">Airmaxxing with New York designer Annie Lian<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"newsletter-inline\" data-newsletter hidden>\n<div class=\"newsletter-small\">\n<div class=\"inner\">\n<h1 class=\"newsletter-title\">Escape the algorithm! Get The Drop<\/h1>\n<div class=\"meta-row\">\n<p class=\"meta\">Get must-see stories direct to your inbox every weekday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/privacy-policy\" class=\"meta-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\nPrivacy policy<br \/>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"confirmation\" aria-live=\"polite\">\n<p class=\"confirmation-title\">Thank you. You have been subscribed<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/privacy-policy\" class=\"meta-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\nPrivacy policy<br \/>\n<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"article-body wrapper\">\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p><span>Music festivals are meant to be a bit disgusting. If you\u2019ve never waded through ankle-deep mud to a festering, overused portaloo, have you ever really lived? This griminess has left its muddy footprints all over festival fashion, too. It\u2019s Keira Knightley and Jamie Dornan in mud-splattered jeans, or Sienna Miller draped in a grey hoodie with an unlit cigarette drooping from her mouth. It\u2019s weathered, functional and slightly undone.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>While British festivals conjure images of mud slides, flooded tents and K-holes, their US counterparts are much more sanitised \u2013 and so is their style. When you think of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/tag\/coachella\">Coachella fashion<\/a>, you probably picture flowy boho dresses, flower crowns, fringe jackets and the culturally appropriative headwear that certain celebs would rather you forget about.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Coachella fashion has aged like a landfill indie band. What was once fun now feels stale and cringe. Each April, celebrities and influencers are helicoptered into the desert with full glam squads \u2013 not a splash of mud in sight. The process is smooth and frictionless, with every moment optimised to look good on screen. Each outfit is meticulously curated to appear free-spirited, which obviously misses the point, and the result is a largely soulless facsimile of festival fashion.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><span>\u201cWith the rise of Instagram in the early 2010s, Coachella fashion was no longer just about the clothes. It was about content\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span>It wasn\u2019t always this way. Photos from the festival\u2019s first-ever edition in 1999 reveal a sea of t-shirts, vests, sneakers and jean shorts. Festival-goers dressed practically for three days in the sweltering desert (temperatures soared to 48 degrees celsius that year) and their style reflected the laidback ethos of rock fans at the time. By the mid-00s, after<\/span><em><span> Rolling Stone<\/span><\/em><span> dubbed it \u201cAmerica\u2019s best festival\u201d, Coachella started to attract celebrities like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/paris-hilton\">Paris Hilton<\/a>, Nichole Richie and Mischa Barton. Their boho-style paisley mini dresses, suede fringe jackets, jean shorts and patterned bandanas were snapped by the paparazzi who followed them, establishing what we now think of as \u2018Coachella fashion\u2019. It wasn\u2019t long before fast fashion brands like Forever 21, Topshop and H&amp;M were cashing in on the trend. Today, Coachella influencer fit pics still tend to look more like Urban Outfitters catalogues than fun, authentic festival moments.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>With the rise of Instagram in the early 2010s, Coachella fashion was no longer just about the clothes. It was about content. In 2015, fast fashion company Revolve launched its own exclusive invite-only festival near Coachella, which has become one of the most coveted invitations on the influencer calendar \u2013 a hotspot for networking, content creation and celeb spotting. This year\u2019s tightly controlled guestlist included <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/teyana-taylor\">Teyana Taylor<\/a>, BLACKPINK\u2019s Lisa and Gabbriette.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Since the mid-2010s, the Coachella influencer economy has only grown, giving it the derisive nickname \u2018the influencer Olympics\u2019. Today, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.themirror.com\/entertainment\/music\/brands-influencer-money-spent-coachella-1780978\">marketers\u2019 budgets can<\/a> \u201creach into the high six figures to over a million dollars\u201d for high-profile influencers to attend the festival. The goal is to create fashion moments that live on beyond the festival itself, but it\u2019s hard to imagine these looks having as much moodboard longevity as <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/kate-moss\"><span>Kate Moss<\/span><\/a><span> or <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/alexa-chung\"><span>Alexa Chung<\/span><\/a><span> trudging through the mud at Glasto. Brands want to take advantage of Coachella\u2019s proximity to culture and visibility on social media, but the results feel sterile and blatantly mercenary.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<figure class=\"inline-img expandable dev-view-hide\" data-img=\"18443b26-056c-405d-bd2d-b43201134a62\" data-src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/2000\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/3\/1443604.jpg\" data-img-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\" data-img-aspect-ratio=\"1.48\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Coachella 2001\" class=\"img\" height=\"2029\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/786\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/3\/1443604.jpg\" width=\"3000\"><\/span><\/span><figcaption class=\"img-caption\"><span class=\"caption\">Coachella in 2001<\/span><span class=\"credit\">Photography Tim Mosenfelder via <span class=\"nowrap\">Getty Images<\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p><span>Festival dressing is most fun and innovative when it balances style and practicality: chaotic layering, overstuffed crossbody bags and smudges of last night\u2019s makeup. It shouldn\u2019t work, but it does, because the best looks feel lived in. Inventiveness springs from inconvenience. But when influencers are transported in and out of the festival with a team of stylists, that gritty charm is lost. Even the crowds look bored. Everyone is watching themselves being watched.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>It all represents a wider overreliance on nostalgia and referencing rather than creating something new. Today\u2019s festival fashion code is countercultural and bohemian, drawing from the hippy subculture of the 1960s and 70s, but it couldn\u2019t be further removed from the anticonsumerist attitudes which these movements embodied. It\u2019s an imitation of an imitation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>While Coachella brings together some of the biggest artists in the world, the broader culture has become increasingly fragmented. Lacking any unifying trend or subculture, we are forced to rely on old references, turning style into a costume as disposable as an ultra-fast fashion haul. Coachella influencer fashion is proof that every moment of our real, living, breathing, partying lives can be optimised for the algorithm. It\u2019s no longer a trend, but a dull cover version that never sounds quite as good as the original.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"newsletter-inline-last\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-small\">\n<div class=\"inner\">\n<h1 class=\"newsletter-title\">Escape the algorithm! Get The Drop<\/h1>\n<div class=\"meta-row\">\n<p class=\"meta\">Get must-see stories direct to your inbox every weekday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/privacy-policy\" class=\"meta-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\nPrivacy policy<br \/>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"confirmation\" aria-live=\"polite\">\n<p class=\"confirmation-title\">Thank you. You have been subscribed<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/privacy-policy\" class=\"meta-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\nPrivacy policy<br \/>\n<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>[analyse_source url=&#8221;https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/fashion\/article\/70114\/1\/when-exactly-coachella-aesthetic-soulless-sheinchella-influencers&#8221;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/1200\/112-172-1971-1314\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/3\/1443606.jpg&#8221;] Photography Papjuice\/Bauer-Griffin\/GC Images via Getty Images April\u00a0 20,\u00a0 2026 Fashion \/ Opinion Fashion \/ Opinion When exactly did the Coachella aesthetic become so soulless? Influencer culture has turned Coachella into a stale parody of its former self April\u00a0 20,\u00a0 2026 April\u00a0 20,\u00a0 2026 TextSophie Wilson Music festivals are meant to be a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[226,76],"class_list":["post-1892521","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-crawlmanager","tag-dazeddigital-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1892521","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1892521"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1892521\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1892521"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1892521"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1892521"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}