Worldbuilding at Coachella and how we predicted it last week 🔮
Trendspotting in real time: Coachella weekend 1 recap
If you read our Coachella forecast last week, you already knew this year was going to be different. The immersive aesthetic, the IRL world-building, the influencer fatigue... we flagged it all before the gates even opened.
Weekend 1 confirmed it: Coachella isn’t curating cool anymore, it’s curating content.
Pinterest came out on top with an activation that didn’t just look good [it felt good]. Their immersive desert takeover wasn’t about putting content on a pedestal, it was about pulling people into the creative process. Guests walked through real-life versions of Pinterest’s Collages feature, explored festival fashion trends [that we predicted last week🔮], and even got styled by pros on-site [with help from Pinterest’s trend tools]. As Pinterest’s Chief Content Officer Malik Ducard put it in his LinkedIn recap, the activation was about “bringing Pinterest to life,” giving people the chance to tell their own stories and celebrate self-expression [yes, even if that meant his son vetoing his festival fit].
But they weren’t the only ones who showed up big:
White Fox Boutique X SLICKHAIR. showed up big [and pink] with the Had To Be There Festival House that the girlies are still sharing photos from
rhode skin X 818 Spirits returned to the festival with their attention grabbing photo booth to document the looks that have been laid out for weeks [Righteous Gemstones fans, did you also think the booth was giving Prayer Pod?!]
Revolve built an entire influencer village [again] and Cardi B was there to unveil her forthcoming fashion and beauty collaboration with the brand
And American Express gave cardholders curated perks that felt more Soho House than festival. It was all about the experience for cardholders this year as AmEx doubled down on IRL community experience and gifted takeaways.
And yet... not even the biggest brand tents could mask the shift happening behind the scenes.
, our official Coachella Correspondent, was on the ground for Weekend 1 sharing her thoughts and we’re resurfacing her definitive piece on how the festival has transformed here. In her words, Coachella isn’t about music anymore [it’s about access]. The curation has shifted from tastemaking to taste-tracking. The hierarchy of wristbands? Out of control. The artists? Quiet quitting.For marketers, it’s a case study in where the culture is headed. Because if clout is the new currency, Coachella might be the best [and worst] example of how we’re spending it. You can read Megan’s piece here.
Stay tuned for the latest in our Ones to Watch series, dropping tomorrow. We’re spotlighting the creators who didn’t just attend Coachella, they defined it. From from the indie darling with a quietly devoted fanbase [yes, even a Love Islander], to the rising star who turned one viral snippet into a career-making moment, this next drop is the cheat sheet you’ll want before everyone else catches up.
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