Influencers are paying stylists top dollar for ‘tragic’ Coachella outfits

Several social media influencers have been sharing their disappointment over paying thousands of dollars for a stylist to create their Coachella outfits — only to end up with a box full of mismatched, ill-fitting clothing.

Montse Lewin, a 28-year-old content creator from Los Angeles, shared a recent video on TikTok about her experience hiring a stylist she found on social media to build her music festival look. Since its inception in 1999, Coachella has evolved into a haven for content creators, with its signature boho-chic aesthetic shaping festival fashion trends worldwide.

Ahead of attending the first weekend of Coachella, Lewis filled out a form about her clothing preferences and sent a Pinterest board to the stylist for inspiration.

When her outfits arrived in the mail, she wasn’t too thrilled. Her first look featured a range of clashing colors: a sequined dark purple skirt, a gold bikini-style bra, paired with a random leopard print scarf.

“I’m trying not to have a panic attack right now. I’m trying to breathe,” she said while reviewing the outfits.

She then wore a pair of loose grey pants and a brown belt, both of which were too big for her, with the bra. The next look included a white vintage t-shirt with ill-fitting silver basketball shorts. A fourth look consisted of a pink scarf, worn as a halter top, and a crochet skirt that was see-through.

“This was such a bad idea, oh my god,” Lewin added. “I was hoping for looks that felt original, fun, and creative… but instead I ended up with options that just don’t feel like me.”

In the comments of the video, which has more than 5 million views, viewers were shocked by the looks the stylists created, and quipped about how they weren’t the right fit for Coachella.

“Is this a prank?” one wrote, while another added: “PLS PLS PLS TELL ME THIS IS SATIRE.”

“Baby, that’s a donation bag, I think,” a third quipped about the clothes as a fourth said, “These outfits are so tragic omg.”

“I have never seen anything so bad,” someone else chimed in while another said, “Girl, this is hot garbage.”

While Lewin didn’t disclose how much she paid the stylist, influencer Mei Mei Monstaa said in a TikTok video that she had considered doing this too, but chose not to when the booking fee was $8,000. She claimed it would be $5,000 for each outfit from the stylist, who she didn’t mention by name, and that she couldn’t keep the clothes afterwards.

Another influencer named Dayna Marie shared her regret over hiring a stylist to dress her for the festival. In an Instagram video with more than four million views, Marie confessed that she gave the stylist full creative control when building the looks.

Marie was ultimately disappointed by what she was sent — the garments were clashing colors and looked more like pajamas than festival attire.

She was particularly stunned by an outfit that consisted of a yellow, cropped graphic t-shirt paired with a red and white polka dot mini skirt. “You cannot be for real,” she said. “Guys, I’m going to freaking cry. Are we serious?”

“And I already paid for all of this, I own this now.”

Viewers shared their confusion over why so many influencers were hiring online-based stylists. “Is this like a trend? Or did everyone hire bad stylists?” one wrote.

“I’ve decided that the ‘stylists’ styling people this year actually have no fashion sense,” another commented.