Coachella: the most Instagram-worthy weekend is back

With Coachella taking place in person after a two-year hiatus, people can finally come within six feet of one another to take pictures in their Boho swimwear. Wiki Commons

At the beginning of 2020, music festival fans waited in anticipation for one of the most sought after weekends of the year — Coachella weekend. However, due to the pandemic, they were sadly forced to hang up their glorified bikini tops and glittery short shorts.

Now, after a two-year hiatus, festival-goers finally were able to pull out their body glitter and rave attire as Coachella started back up last weekend. With the second weekend already underway, this year’s event was well equipped with the classic rainbow tower, countless social media tags and stellar musical guests. 

Caitlin Couch rocked a red mesh set, inspired by Harry Styles’ classic red outfits he sports in concert.

“I would say that it was better (than I expected), because going into it, based on what I saw on social media, I thought it was going to be scary, super crowded and dangerous,” said Ava Izadi, a sophomore communications studies major who attended the first weekend of Coachella. “But it was actually way more chill than I thought it would be." 

After the Astroworld incident, which resulted in at least 10 deaths at a Travis Scott festival last November, there has been anxiety and anticipation regarding how future concerts would be handled.

Caitlin Couch, a senior creative and cultural industries major, conceded she was weary of this concern when deciding to attend Coachella. 

“(The Astroworld incident) crossed my mind to be worried about something like that happening again, but honestly after Kanye dropped out, that was when I felt more confident in safety at the festival — especially given how many security team members were all over the festival,” Couch said. “It was such a tragedy that I think they were prepared in case of anything going south, which made me feel safer.”

COVID-19 was also at the back of many people’s minds when they were in big crowds, as the festival did not require proof of vaccination, a negative COVID-19 test or even a mask requirement. Since the festival takes place entirely outdoors, Couch’s fears of potential COVID-19 transmission mostly subsided.

“I felt safe going just because I can trust in my vaccination status," Couch said. "Even though it's definitely not a COVID-19 safe mask, I still had my bandana to put on if I was in the middle of the crowds — which isn't ideal, but at least gave me some form of protection.”

Ava Izadi went for a 60s floral moment and glittery makeup as node to the hot spring weather the weekend graced her with.

Along with her bandanas, Couch made sure to bring out all the stops with her outfits by matching the performers she was going to see each day. 

Couch wore black pants with cutouts and grungy-teased pigtails to see Billie Eillish, who is known for her edgy, oversized style, and Couch knew she had to wear red to see Harry Styles in honor of the iconic solid red suits he wears to concerts. She was able to spice up her red flowy pants, bikini top and mesh red gloves with plastic butterflies she bought on Amazon. 

“I went on a mad dash search for the right glue that would be both for fabric and plastic,” Couch said. “ I glued them to my outfit two days before, because it needed eight hours for the glue to set, and it ended up looking really good in my opinion. I really liked it. I think that that was my favorite outfit.” 

Couch planned her outfits carefully, and she viewed comfort as her top priority, along with many others who attended this year. Margo Herreid, a junior strategic and corporate communication major, relied on thrifting to provide her with comfortable clothes that still made all her Coachella fashion fantasies come true even in the heat of Indio, California. 

“I pride myself on my thrifting abilities; I got the most unique outfits that I love so much, they were very different from the people there and I thrifted all of it, so it was economically good,'' Herreid said. “Everything's so expensive (at Coachella), and especially with the college scene, you just can't go all out. And comfortability-wise, it was so hot, so you're not going to be wanting to wear really heavy things.”

A boho queen needs her fringe accessories as Margo Herreid exemplified in her Cleopatra inspired outfit. “My friends called me Cleopatra for the day,” Margo said. 

When viewers are scrolling through countless Instagram posts after that first Coachella weekend, they often don’t realize how cold it gets at night in the desert. Although many people post aesthetic pictures in their perfectly Boho outfits, the jackets come out after dusk. 

“Bring a jacket if you can, because it was freezing at night,” Izadi said. “Day one, I didn’t and I really regretted it. Day two, I brought a jacket and my life was so much better.”

Another non-aesthetic but practical tactic is camping on site. Herreid told The Panther she really immersed herself in all Coachella had to offer by camping on site, so she did not need to waste time waiting for an Uber or shuttle. 

“It was a campsite of 60 of us, which is so many," Herreid said. "I slept out of a car with two of my close girlfriends. I was excited for camping because it's just a chance to bond with people when you're kind of uncomfortable, really hot (and) not feeling your best. But you bond through it, so it was a highlight for sure.” 

In contrast, at each night’s end, Izadi had to rely on the festival’s shuttle system in order to leave the site. She told The Panther she learned to leave the event early enough each day to be one of the first people in line for the shuttle when it resumed operation.

“As long as you planned ahead and started walking a little bit before (the day) was over, you could just get right onto the bus,” Izadi said. “The first night, we didn't do that, and we were waiting in line for like two hours, which was horrible.”

Although Coachella is often a hub for taking pictures to post on Instagram, Herreid soaked in every bit of Coachella by not taking photos or video throughout the whole festival and instead just enjoying the performances. 

"My best friend, Lily … was like, ‘Okay, in the morning, we'll take one photo with each other, snap a pic of the outfit, done,’” Herreid said. “I didn't take one video of the artists, which looking back, I totally wish I could watch it and relive it. But in my mind, while I was listening, I was thinking, ‘I need to whip out my phone right now and just capture this,’ but I literally couldn't. I was so entranced and so in a moment, (and) it would've broken me out of a spell if I would have picked up my phone.”

Izadi said that being able to see so many different artists made Coachella definitely worth the hype for her.

“I just saw so many of my favorite artists in one weekend and one ticket was applicable to seeing like 810 different artists that I would have loved to see anyways," Izadi said. "Coming out of it, just having that experience, I feel like it created such good memories for me.” 

The second weekend of Coachella started April 22 and will continue until Sunday, April 24. A live-stream of the performances is available here.