Is Coachella still attracting luxury brands in 2025?

Considered a veritable open-air fashion catwalk where the biggest international stars perform, the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival (the festival's original name) welcomes tens of thousands of festival-goers every year over two consecutive weekends in April. However, this year, the hype was slow to build: a few days after tickets went on sale last November, the music festival considered the most watched in the world was still not sold out.

It must be said that prices have reached record highs: a minimum of $599 for a general admission ticket for the first weekend and $549 for the second. By way of comparison, tickets still cost $499 in 2021 and only $50 when the festival was launched in 1999. VIP packages sold for between $1,199 and $1,399. These costs are prompting some fans to turn to free live streams on YouTube, the festival's official partner.

While rumors suggest that hip-hop star Kendrick Lamar declined the invitation from Goldenvoice (the organizer), other global headliners made a big impression, including Lady Gaga, Green Day, Post Malone, and Travis Scott. However impressive the line-up, it wasn't enough to convince luxury brands to invest heavily in on-site marketing activations. Only Pandora made its presence felt with the Pandora Charm House, a pop-up villa just a stone's throw from the festival.

They now seem to favor a more discreet and subtle presence on stage, through the artists' stage outfits. Since Beyoncé's sensational appearance in 2018, wearing a Balmain costume, luxury brands have understood the virality of the phenomenon. In 2019, Louis Vuitton dressed Rosalia and Bad Bunny; in 2022, Harry Styles caused a sensation in a Gucci sequined jumpsuit; in 2023, the famous Korean group Blackpink stood out in pink and black outfits by Dolce & Gabbana.

This year, once again, the looks were the talk of the town: K-Pop star Lisa wore a custom-made Off-White ensemble followed by an outfit adorned with Swarovski crystals; Jennie wore an outfit from Mugler's Spring/Summer 1992 Cowboy collection; Tyla made her debut in a Dolce & Gabbana look; and Cynthia Erivo made a surprise appearance in a satin Zimmerman dress with Christian Louboutin boots.

According to the top 10 best-performing fashion brands compiled by CreatorIQ, an influencer marketing company, Chanel ranks third, far behind Revolve and just behind Adidas. The brand earned an EMV (Earned Media Value) of $3.56 million, thanks in part to the new sac25 bag worn by Charli XCX. Also noteworthy is the media impact of Mugler, whose vintage vest worn by Hailey Bieber attracted attention, as well as that of the brands Chloé and Ray Ban.

However, the trend is clearly downward: the total EMV generated by beauty and fashion brands during the first weekend of the festival fell from $52.63 million in 2024 to $40.8 million this year. This decline reflects a certain weariness among the public and brands towards a festival that was once unmissable.

Will luxury brands' investments run out of steam? Whatever happens, it won't stop the organizers, who have already announced the dates for the next edition: April 10-12 and April 17-19.