We don’t only know Coachella for the lineup of artists that have brought us our favorite music since the ‘90’s, but also for the often unexpected outfits we see strutting around the festival. From bedazzled jumpsuits to neon wigs to nearly no clothes at all, Coachella never fails with bringing us the year’s craziest fashion statements.
Even if Coachella has never been your cup of tea, each year brings some surprises that anyone can giggle at. 2019 marks the twenty-sixth year of the festival’s beginning, and as stars gathered in California to kick the show off, we got a taste of who rocked and who flopped.
There is a fine line between risky and trashy. We see this everywhere, but it is especially apparent when it is streamed for the world to see. Liam Payne seemed to come to the forefront in bizarre outfits, sporting a combination of a strangely-textured open shirt with dull yellow sleeves, basketball shorts and neon Nikes. The ensemble was mostly black, and frankly, so simple that it doesn’t warrant a second look.
Cardi B also frisked past that fine line, when she took the stage with Offset to perform “Clout”. Along with her signature 3-inch nails, Cardi B wore what looked like a blue and white raincoat, low and loose around the arms and only reaching her hips. Her yellow nails along with her purple and pink hair in bows, appeared to clash in all the wrong ways on her final performance day.
When it comes to those that made the best dressed list, Katy Perry not only dazzled with her smooth vocals, but a custom made jumpsuit with a sparkly overlay. The suit, designed by Jamie Mizrahi, glows a tie-dye magenta color, with a cut-out under the sweetheart neckline, complete with cat-eye makeup and metallic space boots. The future Mrs. Orlando Bloom brought her fashion A-game for this appearance.
Ella Mai, a top R&B artist and Grammy winner, ran across the stage with an all-white ensemble, appearing casual and iconic all at the same time. Her sheer shirt and giant white jacket was accented by her natural hair shining with silver glitter and hoops that plunged down past her shoulders. She definitely deserved the applause she got from the crowd.
Some stars are not so easy to put into a category. Olivia Culpo was heavily praised by fashion websites for her desert-color romper with a big buckle and beige boots, but compared to the other dazzling outfits that some of the stars flaunted, it felt almost too safe for such a big event. Bad Bunny, a Puerto Rican entertainer, was along these lines as well representing Louis Vuitton from head to toe. The monogrammed shirt with matching pants certainly made the brand happy, but didn’t necessarily show the creative risk that he so often brings to the table.
Most people aren’t a master of fashion review, but the beauty of events like Coachella is that even the most amateur of clothing critiques can still form an opinion on the array of attire on our screens. I mean, we all wear clothes (I hope), so everyone will always have something to say, regardless of taste. And I’ll be honest, events like Coachella have never been my forte. But you don’t have to know the music, or even the stars, to still get a kick out of the sometimes atypical outfits that show up at the festival.
Madeline Klayer, Staff Reporter
