Coachella is probably the biggest musical event of the year. Heck, it’s one of the biggest events of the year period. And this year, it didn’t happen.
But Coachella is just as much a brand as it is an event for people to go see music and other live performances. And the festival organizers—especially this year since people couldn’t get to the valley—need to keep that brand top of mind and relevant. So they launched a line of branded apparel.
Unlike the ornate (and sometimes offensive) Coachella outfits of years past, the collection will be a little more understated, focusing instead on T-shirts, hoodies and hats. In other words, the collection is more ready for day-to-day life than the over-the-top nature of festival attire.
If you’ve ever payed attention to Coachella on social media, you’ve probably seen that it’s full of aspiring influencers spending more time taking pictures for social media than watching music. Coachella played into the social media-centered life of many of its fans and launched the apparel first on Instagram using its in-platform commerce capabilities, before launching its own standalone e-commerce site today.
The festival also teased the various designs, which are pretty minimal in their branding, in the days leading up to the first sale.
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Today, the first full line went up for sale on shop.coachella.com, and also includes a collection created by Black designers. Others include messaging supporting social justice movements, like one hoodie that says “Love Black people like you love Black music” with “Do Better” in a Nike-esque font on the back.
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According to The Mercury News, that collection was spearheaded by a group of employees at Coachella promoter Goldenvoice, which works to amplify Black artists in the creative community.
Next year, maybe things will look a little more normal for the California music festival. We hope so. But, in the meantime, Coachella is smart to do something for its brand while people are watching music videos and livestreams from home.
