best and ugliest looks in the history of the Festival I iODonna

Ct’s a time of year, around mid-April, when the Californian desert becomes the scene of one of the biggest musical events in the world: the Coachella. Two weekends for a festival live in which the most beloved artists of all time perform for a large and varied audience, made up of concert enthusiasts, fun lovers, fashion enthusiasts and more or less well-known faces.

The Coachellain more than two decades, it was a fixture for the starswhich transformed the sandy expanses of the valley Indian in an open-air parade. A few days before the start of the 2026 edition, which will be held from 10 to 12 April and from 17 to 19, it’s worth looking back at some of their top and flop looks who made the history of the event.

Coachella, the top looks

Although among the names of the 2026 edition stand out names of the caliber of: Sabrina Carpenter, Justin Bieber and Karol G; today the Indio festival is experiencing a decline in popularity: on the one hand due to excessively high prices and on the other due to over-exposure. Last aspect on which even fashion experts agree, which they consider today the “desert-core boho”, at the basis of the Coachella outfits, so exploited that it almost becomes a caricature of itself.

Nevertheless, there was a momentin the mid-2000s, where attending Coachella automatically meant being cool. The aesthetic of that period, made up of crochet dresses, crop tops and cowboy boots, remains the symbol of the festival today: a bohemian style well recognisablewhich featured some of the most unforgettable looks of the decade.

Among the stars who have been able to best embody this gypsy-chic spirit there is certainly one Alessandra Ambrosio. Regular at every edition, the top model he collected a series of outfits that are still a point of reference today for those who decide to venture into the Coachella Valley. Between hippie blouses, suede shorts and an indefinite number of bracelets on the wrists, it paved the way for subsequent trends.

In the latest editions the mood has evolved, abandoning the gypsy look in favor of more contemporary ensembles. One of the protagonists of this change of direction is the new model on the crest of the wave, Alex Consaniwhich through minimal outfits and impeccable styling in recent years has shown that you can be glamorous even without falling into stylistic clichés of the festival outfit.

Coachella, the flop outfits

If on the one hand Coachella has seen incredibly trendy outfits paraded, on the other, over the course of its long history, there was no shortage of unlikely pairings, out of place colors and questionable choices. Paris Hiltonfor example, has been at the center of several fashion disasters: despite being a regular attendee of the festival, he often went overboard with the mix and matchcombining garments, prints and accessories that are not in line with each other. The overall effect? Not very chic, very kitsch.

And speaking of debacles, too Katy Perry rightfully climbs onto the podium of the worst dressed at Coachella. (De)merit of the floral mini dress combined with ripped tights, which made even the most forgiving fans turn up their noses in 2012.

Thanks to the outfit that is decidedly more in line with a rock concert, the pop star confirms, today as yesterday, that even famous names are not immune to slips on the sand of Indio.

The only certainty is that the Coachella looks continue to arouse comments and curiosity. All that remains is to find out what the 2026 edition has in store…