Trends Expert Predicts the Biggest Festival Fashion Trends for Coachella 2023

This weekend welcomes the first installment of the world's most famous music festival, Coachella. As excited fans flock to the California desert to watch the biggest names in music performances, the conversation often turns to fashion.

Despite taking place in desert temperatures, bringing extreme heat and dust, for many, Coachella is all about what people are going to be wearing.

Nick Drewe, Trend Expert at online discounts platform, Wethrift, has taken a look into social media data to predict what will be the hottest trends in festival fashion for Coachella 2023.

“Over on TikTok, we’re seeing a huge surge of different fashion trends, making it one of the main platforms people are using to source their festival fashion inspiration. In fact, the TikTok hashtag #festivalfashion2023 has already received a staggering 2.5 million views this early into the year.

“As people flock to apps such as TikTok for their festival outfit inspiration, we’ve analysed the fashion trends that are appearing across the platform, in order to predict which will be the hottest trends that are seen at Coachella this year.”

Crochet Fashion

Knitwear most definitely won’t be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of festival fashion, particularly not when it comes to attending a festival like Coachella. However, crochet fashion looks to be one of the hottest festival fashion trends of this year, and can even be practical in extreme heat.

The hashtag #crochetfashion has received a staggering 1339.9 million views on TikTok and is one of the most prominent trends as of late. The beauty of crochet clothing is that it has holes in it, and summer variations of the outfits are made with much larger holes, making them breathable in hot temperatures.

Sequin Outfits

A classic festival look and a staple of Coachella, the hashtag #sequinoutfit has received over 7.1 million TikTok views and counting. From shorts to tops, and even sequined kimonos, this timeless classic is seen year after year at Coachella, and based on TikTok content, this year is likely to be no different. Light-weight and relatively inexpensive, sequin outfits are perfect for adding a little extra sparkle to your festival look.

Parachute Pants

Last year, festival fashion was dominated by parachute pants, and based on TikTok data, this year’s Coachella festival looks to be no different. At a whopping 371.2 million views on the hashtag #parachutepants, these light and baggy utility-type pants can be expected to be seen in abundance at this year’s Coachella Festival, and throughout various other music festivals over the coming summer months.

Y2K Styles

Retro fashion is in this year, and following the resurgence of the early 2000s styles in 2022, Y2K styles look set to dominate the festival fashion landscape once more. With over 52.9 million views on the hashtag #Y2Koutfit, many creators are flocking to TikTok for their more retro-inspired festival outfits. From low-rise skirts to bedazzled jackets, it’s likely we’ll see many Y2 K-inspired outfits hitting Coachella over the next two weeks.

Barbie-inspired Fashion

The new teaser trailer for the upcoming movie has caused Google searches for ‘Barbiecore’ to increase by a staggering 7900%. Similarly, searches for ‘hot pink fashion’ spiked by 9900% over the last week, likely driven by the hype around the highly anticipated film release. The trend is also being seen across apps such as TikTok, with the hashtag #barbiecore receiving 279.2 million views. It’s likely that we’ll see plenty of Barbie-inspired, retro, and hot pink fashion across the Coachella festival.

Cowgirl Fashion

At 16.8 million views on TikTok, the classic denim festival look will most likely be making a welcomed appearance throughout the Coachella festival. From skirts, tops, shorts, and jackets, denim makes for the perfect material to complete a classic festival look. With 8.8 million views on the #cowgirlaesthetic hashtag on TikTok, denim is the ideal material to complete this look, especially when paired with a classic cowboy (or girl) hat and knee-high boots.

Ski Wear

This may be a surprising addition to the list of Coachella fashion trends. However, ski goggles are the latest fashion accessory that we predict we will be seeing in abundance at Coachella. These skiing essentials have turned into fashion statements and have been donned by high-profile celebrities such as Rihanna. They are now taking TikTok by storm as one of the must-have festival fashion accessories, with 15.5 million views on the #skigoggles hashtag.