I don’t know why anyone would want to go to Coachella this year considering that the line-up blows (hahaha… Drake?!), but I guess the Southern California festival will sell a bazillion tickets and be the apple of the media’s eye when it happens in April. That said, Coachella is Big Business these days, just like EDC, Bonnaroo, Governor’s Ball, and the entire music festival industrial complex as a whole.
But what could make it much more awful than having, lol, Drake as a headliner? How about the clothing store H&M making a clothing line just for hipster who want to pretend like they’re LSD-fueled ’60s flower-children rolling in the mud at Woodstock for a weekend.
Via Women’s Wear Daily:
The Swedish retailer has teamed up with the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, Calif., to produce its first cobranded collection, H&M Loves Coachella. H&M, now in its sixth year as a sponsor of Coachella, will sell the collection at 350 stores in North America beginning on March 19, and worldwide beginning on March 26, as well as online. In addition, a pop-up shop in the H&M tent on the festival grounds will feature exclusive merchandise. The music lineup at Coachella, which will take place during April 10 to 12, and 17 to 19, includes AC/DC, Alabama Shakes, Drake, Florence and the Machine, Nero, David Guetta, Kele and Lykke Li.
Over the years, the festival has become almost as famous for the array of fashion on display — worn by everyone from fans to members of young Hollywood — as the music. The H&M Loves Coachella collection features all the BoHo touch points: fringe, tunics and cutoffs. H&M’s in-house team designed for women lace tops, rompers, graphic tops, crop tops and wide-leg pants. For men there will be graphic T-shirts and shorts. Prices will range from $4.95 to $49.95. While tickets to the festival have been sold out for some time, H&M in March will give away several all-inclusive trips to Coachella. Customers in the U.S. who bring unwanted clothing to any H&M store to be recycled will receive a voucher for 20 percent off their entire purchase and be entered to win a Coachella weekend. “Coachella is one of the most anticipated music events in the country, and this collection gives fashion and music lovers the opportunity to be a part of it,” said an H&M spokeswoman.
As Live For Live Music says, “why?”
I can hear the targeted marketing appeal of all the basics planning trips to Coachella right now:
“Fringe, tunics and cutoffs! OMG! Lace tops, rompers, graphics topcs, crop tops, and wide-leg pants! Just like Woodstock! OMG!!!!!!! What’s your favorite Led Zeppelin song? ‘Cause I love that “Loving Cup” one. That’s Zeppelin, right? Woo woo! I love the Drake remix of it! So rock ‘n roll!’ Who’s got my molly ooooooo your headdress is cute!!! So BoHo chic!”
Puke. All of this indicates that Coachella isn’t even about actually enjoying the shit out of awesome music but posting Instagram selfies of how cute your H&M outfit is because… marketing! It’s a scene and one that isn’t exactly focused on the borderline religious experience of seeing music performed at loud volumes in the middle of a giant field. That’s a sacred experience and has nothing to do with how you dress. To quote L4LL once more:
While we appreciate the fact that H&M and Coachella are helping us look like the stars at an affordable price, we like to remember when music festivals were music festivals, NOT fashion shows. But hey, when there is a new revenue stream and money to be made, who are we to argue?
Tunes first, fashion… eighth? twentieth? one-hundred millionth? Otherwise, Justin Bieber wins. And you don’t want to live in a world where Justin Bieber wins, do you?