The first Coachella video of the night played on freshman Narlio Izaguirre’s phone while her homework was still on the computer screen. Then another. Then 20 more. Izaguirre said her For You Page on TikTok turned into a fashion war between influencers about their outfits.

“On the first day of Coachella, my For You Page was filled with get ready with me going into Coachella,” she said.

Most of what Izaguirre saw at Coachella was not a music festival, it was an excuse for people to wear revealing outfits.

“The outfits were always scandalous looking and people were like half naked in a way,” Izaguirre said.

Coachella, the two-weekend music festival in the California desert, has become one of the most anticipated events of the year. The 2026 festival ran April 10 through 12 and picked back up April 17 through 19, with Sabrina Carpenter, Justin Bieber and Karol G headlining, according to the festival’s official website.

Coachella has been known as an event that’s not only for artists but for influencers too. It has turned into a fashion war between influencers where influencers are harshly critiqued by their viewers based on their choice of fashion. But for many Van Nuys High School students, what happens on stage matters less than what shows up on their phones.

Fashion writers at WWD said the festival leaned into Western wear and scandalous outfits. So were sheer tops and oversize belts worn low on the hips and booty shorts with belts worn on the top.

But many of the most photographed outfits did not come from guests’ closets. Brands like Rhode, Revolve, Gap and Kendall Jenner’s 818 Tequila threw private events on weekend one. The brands also provided influencers with clothes merch and PR packages.

“Obviously sometimes brands will pay the creators for promotion and in the process give them outfits to wear,” Izaguirre said. “Some brands will have their logo on the clothes and the creators would talk about the brands giving them outfits.”

Mr. Shawn Wilson shared similar opinions to students like Izaguirre about how Coachella has evolved from more than just a music festival but his opinion on what Coachella now is, is different.

He doesn’t see it as strictly a fashion show, but as an advertising opportunity.

“I saw an article that Coachella doesn’t make money from the artists, they make money off advertising,” he said. “I think students should know that influencers are walking human advertisements, after all this is their job.”

Izaguirre isn’t fooled by the glamour of Coachella.

“I know the outfits cost a lot of money,” she said. “They go from $500,000 to $100, 000 and our community is broke.”

Not everyone is watching though.

“I scroll right past it, Coachella is so boring it shifted from being about music to fashion and I’m not interested in that,” freshman Jayden Igariz said.

Writers at Elle India called the 2026 festival a fashion “crime scene” and said the looks feel more like a contest no one outside the industry can enter.

“I never cared for Coachella,” Igariz said. “But now I think the point of it has shifted. I think now it’s about who can have the best outfit of the weekend.”

Despite the fact that Igariz didn’t keep up with Coachella, his views on the motivations behind the festival echo Wilson’s.

“To be honest, influencers are just like walking advertisements because that’s their job, that’s what they do,” he said.

As the second week of Coachella began, Izaguirre moved on from the Coachella buzz because there isn’t any content worth looking at.