Writing this from Districts 3 & 4
Boots-on-the-ground Coachella Trendspotting + The Hunger Games prequel + what we’re binging on Netflix this week + Pinterest does it again
Megan’s Coachella Trendspotting 🎡🌵🎸
I’m back from my [semi] annual trip to Coachella and am taking you through my observations. From the trends attendees were loving to the vibes the musical acts were tapping, it was another year of fun, fashion, and creative inspiration.
Trend #1: Mary-Kate & Ashley matching with your friends
The most prevalent fashion trend I saw was what netizens have taken to calling “Mary-Kate & Ashley matching” where friends intentionally dress alike without matching exactly. They’ll wear different outfits in the same pattern, the same silhouette in different colors, or stay within a given color scheme. Beyond that macro trend, the fads that I saw across festival grounds were: Fazits (more on those below), Leopard print, bloomers & micro shorts, red leather, and even a quick glimpse of pink cocaine while waiting for Gaga. 🙈
Trend #2: Bush Era Brands
I noticed that many of the brands I associate with the (George W.) Bush/Recession era were everywhere:
Megan Thee Stallion graced the stage dressed by True Religion and had what can only be described as a commercial for the brand as her intermission.
Guess Jeans made their presence in Indio known with a Creator “Compound” hosting two of my faves Alisha Marie & Remi Cruz and a party DJ’d by Charli XCX.
I personally wore an Ed Hardy shirt that I bought at TJ Maxx and DIY bedazzled; and I wasn’t alone. I saw many a [pre-]bedazzled Ed Hardy shirt.
Finally, we can’t forget about Von Dutch, who has no doubt seen a boost in relevance thanks to Charli’s track of the same name. I saw tons of people IRL and online in their iconic trucker hats.
Trend #3: “Realistic” content
At this point, the online speculation about Coachella is as much part of the annual ritual as the festival itself. Even as a devoted Coachella-goer, I understand the snark, especially this year where the economy is terrible and facism looms.
But this discourse does inform what creators post and–likely in an effort to avoid critique–this year I observed a decrease in the volume of posting and a shift in what people were posting. I noticed people (myself included) opted to showcase moments that felt less “fake” but still position the festival as a covetable experience.
Trend #4: Status Bougainvillea
Coachella is notoriously status striated based on your wrist band (aka how much you spent 🤑). There’s “GA” which is the cheapest, then there’s “VIP” which gives you access to different areas with slightly upgraded facilities, and then there’s the secret third tier: “Artist.” Artist passes are not available for purchase and are given at the discretion of performers and brand partners. But as influencers have gotten more skilled at getting their hands on “Artist” wristbands, they’re looking for new ways to flex their VVVIP status. This year, trailer pics were the most effective way to digitally convey authentic proximity to “artists” and the who’s who made sure the bougainvillea accented vehicles appeared in their candid snaps.
Trend #5: Women.
Women are still woefully under-represented on the Coachella lineup. Analysis from Book More Women found that in 2025 the lineup was 24% Women, 1.4% Nonbinary, 75% Men (compared to 25%, 0.7%, 74% in 2024). But what they lacked in numbers, they made up for in billing, with women being some of the most anticipated set times. Artists like Lisa, Meg, Charli, Gaga, Missy, Jennie, the Marias, and Clairo drew huge crowds and delivered memorable performances. The tonality on the ground of the festival was women unapologetically expressing themselves through their fashion and fandom! It could have just been the stages I was frequenting, but I did not see a single straight-presenting man over the age of 25 who wasn’t working the festival or accompanying a woman. In summary, Coachella 2025 was–at least from my perspective–for the girls (a stark contrast to my first year attending in 2014 where it was very much male-centered.)
This Week In Cool Shiny Culture:
🐭 Megan’s Cool: Between gifting for my friends with children, concern for the literacy crisis in America, and evergreen desire to support artists, I’ve recently become interested in children’s books. My latest random find is Frederick by Leo Lionni, a Caldecott Medal Honoree. The beautifully illustrated book tells the story of a little mouse who understands the importance of poetry and makes a case for why creatives need to sit and do nothing from time to time.
🪿 Kaley’s Cool: Last week, I flew through Sunrise on the Reaping, Suzanne Collins’ newest installment in the Hunger Games series. The prequel, whose alternate title could’ve been Why Haymitch Abernathy Drinks, proved what the brilliant Anne Helen Peterson said on this week’s episode of her Culture Study pod: “There’s an iceberg under every character you encounter.” Sunrise pulled me fully back into the iconic franchise and I have to say - it’s great to be back! The fandom is still dizzyingly active, having created more than 1.2 million TikToks about the series (67k in the last month since the prequel was released). Fans, including myself, are eating up all the new lore Collins dropped about everyone’s favorite curmudgeonly mentor with a drinking problem. Now, I’m giving the entire series a re-read. (Note: you don’t need to have read The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes to enjoy - I hadn’t.)
✨Megan’s Shiny: My favorite fad coming out of Coachella 2025 are Fazit’s “Makeup Patches” which act like temporary tattoos to give you metallic freckles on your face. You may remember they went viral when Taylor Swift wore them to a Chief’s game and the founders talked about how they strategically landed the ultimate endorsement. Since then, they’ve been picked up in major retailers and I saw so many fellow attendees and even a few of the performers wearing them and got lots of compliments on my own! I could see these actually standing the test of time and becoming a staple of festival fashion for the foreseeable future. Application tip: cut them in half or in thirds instead of trying to apply all at once.
🌲 Kaley’s Shiny: My household has been binging the nature survivalist show Alone on Netflix. Typically a show about mostly rural men (and to be fair, some rural women) talking about their fishing and hunting skills would NOT be my kind of fare, but I was intrigued after my friends Liz and Michelle recommended it and my San Franco-based coworker talked about learning survival skills like foraging. I’ve been reeled in (pun intended) by the sheer competency of each of the contestants and bewildered to realize the venn diagram of their skills and mine couldn’t be further apart. With this and being thrown back into the Hunger Games arena, is the world telling me I should learn what berries and mushrooms would kill me? 🤔
Marketing We Admire 🤩: Pinterest @ Coachella
The only brand activation I wanted to make sure to see was Pinterest. After all, the platform is a go-to for planning festival outfits, something I consistently use in my work as a trend forecaster, and ofc we at CSC are huge fans of their cultural marketing outputs. Their Coachella activation was no exception!
Located off to the side in a convenient but relatively less hectic GA area of the festival, Pinterest constructed a walkthrough experience that highlighted various festival-appropriate aesthetics. Think Refinery29 Rooms but through a Pinterest lens and with mobile integration.
Upon entry, we were invited to join their free wifi to create a custom Pinterest board for the activation. Within the experience, Pinterest brought to life various aesthetics such as “ENHYPHEN’s desert-core,” “Freestyle Fits,”and “Urban Wrangler.” I overheard a staffer giving a VIP tour saying “their agency did a great job” and I couldn’t agree more. From AC to wifi and QR codes throughout that provided deeper exploration into each aesthetic, it was one of the most relevant but whimsical brand activations I’ve seen in my decade of going.
In a stroke of absolute genius, Pinterest collaborated with Ramisha Sattar, aka Chappell Roan’s creative director and bestie on a space where festival attendees could go get their looks taken to the next level and snap some cute photo ops.
After you walk through the various rooms, take in each aesthetic, and try all the photo opps, you reach this area where–based on the ideas you pinned and liked–you are either professionally made up or accessorized in an experience that felt akin to being backstage at a fashion show.
As two people who have Coachella-specific Pinterest boards and have used the platform for inspo for each of their Coachella visits (3 for Kaley, 6 for Megan), we give kudos to the brand for knowing their audience and showing up in a way that feels validating and additive of our relationship to the festival and the brand.
Huge shoutout to Sara Pollack, VP of Marketing at Pinterest, our former colleague and someone we greatly admire, for building a genuinely awesome brand activation in the desert!
Everyday Activism: Clairo brings out… Bernie Sanders?
As part of his “fighting the Oligarchy tour” with Democratic New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the Vermont Senator made a surprise appearance at Coachella. It felt really strange to mosey over to the Outdoor Stage for an impromptu political rally, but I also think it speaks to the moment we’re in currently. To me, this was Sanders taking a lesson from Trump’s successful appeal to young men online. Clairo has a young, progressive fanbase who were likely tuning in online and hopefully were moved by the call to action. Check out the whole speech here.
Opposite of Cynical: Communal Book moving
Watch this lovely show of neighborly support, as book lovers came out to help a local bookstore move their location down the block. Community is good!! Books are precious!! We love this!
Later gators,
Megan & Kaley