The History of Hippie Fashion at Music Festivals
From Woodstock to Coachella, "flower power" fashion lives on.
Hippie fashion takes over Coachella and other music festivals every year. From flower crowns to feather headbands to flared pants, the fashion from the days of flower power lives on. As fashion trends tend to repeat, it's always interesting to see where they came from. In honour of Coachella 2022, L'Officiel takes a look at how hippie fashion has evolved from the days of Woodstock to now.
In order to understand the hippie fashion trend, one must understand its roots. The psychedelic styles came into popularity during the flower power movement. As the youth of the '60s and '70s protested the Vietnam War, fought for civil rights, and began falling in love with rock'n'roll, new styles that became a marker of their "hippie" status served as a symbol of rebellion from the mainstream. Bright colours, floral detailing, and free-spirited clothes were objects of peaceful protest, as they were all aligned with the "hippie" political agenda. When Woodstock took place in 1969, hippie fashion flooded the fields. Fringe jackets, denim jumpsuits, leather vests, flowers in hair, flowing dresses, and more filled the vast fields. These same fashion trends continue to be spotted at festivals today but have taken on a modern spin.
From the ashes of Woodstock comes Burning Man. Burning Man is a nine-day festival that focuses on art, music, and community. While the festival is known for its wild antics, such as the actual burning of a giant wooden man, people still show out with their best outfits. Since it's held in the Black Rock Desert, the attire needs to be beneficial for both warm and cold weather. Women wear long flowing dresses, lace tank tops, denim shorts, gladiator sandals, and more garments that are reminiscent of the hippie fashion of the '60s. Men wear baggy pants, cowboy boots, and other pieces. There isn't as much of a fashion focus at Burning Man as there is for other festivals, but the hippie motifs still live on inside the festival.
However, Coachella is one of the most fashion-driven music festivals of the year. Planning your outfits for the three-day event is just as important as securing a spot. If you didn't get an Outfit of the Day picture in front of the giant ferris wheel, did you even go?
Celebrities and patrons alike dress to the nines of this festival, and it's become one of fashion's most looked forward to events of the year. Hippie fashion is still a big part of the festival now, but it really had its shining moment between 2014 and 2017. Flared pants, tribal prints, flower crowns, and jewel face stickers were all the rage. The Queen of Coachella, Vanessa Hudgens, set the stage with her '60s-inspired outfits every year. Socialites, such as Kendall Jenner, played into the trend by wearing fringe vests and hippie-style pants. For this year's Coachella, the hippie theme still found its way into festival looks through cowboy boots, denim shorts, and '70s-inspired swirling graphics.
