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Why Stylists Say Working Coachella Is More Stressful Than Awards Season

"Nobody’s saying, ‘Okay, it’s 90 degrees and there’s a dust storm; how’s that dress feel?’ when you’re at the Grammys.”

By Faran Krentcil 

www.nlcamerican.org

 

When stylist Marni Senofonte collaborated with Beyoncé on custom Balmain outfits last Coachella, she changed the world. That’s not hyperbole, it’s the simple fact of dressing the biggest artist of our time on a stage live-streamed by a record-breaking 43 million people, and then replayed via YouTube at least 50 million more times. This single set put haute couture’s only black designer, Balmain’s Olivier Roustieg, on worldwide blast. And it made sunflower yellow a major retail trend for Spring 2019, with Gucci, Balenciaga, Carolina Herrera, Marc Jacobs, and Oscar de la Renta embracing the Beyhive’s new hue.

“That was one of the craziest times for me,” Senofonte grinned at a pre-Coachella party. “And much harder than awards season, because not only was I working with Beyoncé, I was also dressing Kendall.” As in Jenner, whose festival outfit — a black bralette, cargo pants, and a belt bag slung around her shoulder — became a staple for fashion fans thereafter. (You know how it goes: “I saw Kendall Jenner wearing army pants and sneakers, so I bought army pants and sneakers.”) The pressure to put together an outfit that’s instantly replicable by followers is high-test for stylists come festival season. Despite what you might suspect, they can’t just whip up a pair of jean cutoffs and call it a day.

“Coachella is definitely more influential than Oscar season,” says Adam Drawas, whose branding agency Walker Drawas connects celebrities and their stylists with Insta-savvy labels. “Because people wear gowns once a year, but people think about street style every day.” In the case of Coachella, it’s more like every hour, as celebs arrive at three to four events (brunch, cocktails, concert, after-party, repeat) in as many hours. “It can be up to five outfits a day,” says stylist Maeve Reilly, whose work with Hailey Bieber regularly fuels Instagram trends, and the purchases that go with them.

“Obviously, the thought and custom artistry that goes into an Oscar dress is a whole different ballgame from anything at Coachella. But in terms of actually preparing for the weekend, it takes an equal amount of work [as the Oscars] … For elevated street style or even really innovative party looks, Coachella is a very important platform — in some senses, it’s the platform.” And though Levi’s cutoffs and $65 Vans are festival staples, runway pieces you’d see at a Golden Globes after-party make it down to Indio Valley, too.