Is Your Favorite Coachella Outfit Appropriate?

After its two-year break, Coachella has come back in full force. The famous two-weekend music festival took the internet by storm this year. In previous years, the idea of influencers and content creators being celebrities was not as popular as it is now. With the boom of TikTok and regular people becoming considered famous icons, Coachella was covered in celebrities, most of which are close in age to that of the student body at Elon. Coachella is about music and famous performing artists coming to the iconic fields in Indio California, it is about the outfits.

In 1969, the first true rock festival took place in New York, also known as Woodstock. Woodstock became the most iconic music festival of all time and paved the way for the music festivals we love today. Woodstock was created as an opportunity for people to escape the real world and gather in the middle of a giant field and just listen to music and spread the message of unity and peace. This idea became the main memo for music festivals to date, but that was not the only thing taken from Woodstock and the 1960s and 70s festivals. It also started the trend of festival wear, also known as the boho style.

In the 70s, the common attire for music festivals was laid-back clothes with a boldness that was in keeping with the countercultural mood of the music festival movements. However, in recent years, there have been many fashion faux pas generated by the festival-goers, especially at Coachella. Coachella, still trying to escape their mishaps in the past, saw many problematic outfits this year. Many of the attendees were in faux-Native American feathered headdresses with their foreheads decorated with South Asian bindis.

A famous Coachella goer, Vanessa Hudgens, who has been named the “Queen of Coachella” has unfortunately partaken in the cultural appropriation of many cultures at the event. She has been called out by a plethora of people on social media on multiple occasions for pairing ponchos and maxis dresses with bindis.

Another celebrity guilty of these actions is former Victoria’s Secret model Alesandra Ambrosio. In 2014, she faced hate from the internet for posting a picture of herself while wearing a feathered headdress. Her caption for the post was “Becoming more inspired for @coachella with this amazing Native American headpiece”. Three years after the post and after receiving serious backlash from the post, she posted an apology on Instagram.

Even though there have been many accounts of cultural appropriation in the Coachella Fields, there has been a positive created from different social media platforms. The internet has created a place for the response to be given to certain acts of appropriation and allows for people who find outfits and accessories offensive and express their opinion. Even though the appropriation is not completely wiped from the festival scene, we are starting to see some progress. Part of this progress is talking about what is right and what is wrong with what people wear, especially people who hold immense power in the public eye, celebrities.

Header Photo from HITC