The Influencer Effect on Coachella

Zoifish, this day and ages Coachella Queen IMO

Here ye, here ye. Order in the court. Class is in session. TRUST, y'all I'm back from my softball filled hiatus. I felt like I had to share my take on one of the biggest days of fashion of the year, COACHELLAAA. WOOOOOO. or is it really woooooo? This may be all over the place but just follow along please.

Historically, Coachella has become the place for boho outfits like queen Vanessa Hudgens is known for. Flower crowns, crochets, flowey skirts, scarves. Anything to feel like you're in your indie dream listening Tame Impala and Florence and the Machine. Brands saw the number of celebrities flowing into the festival and saw an opportunity to market, which how could they not, and campaigns like H&M's #HMLovesCoachella in 2015 were born paving the way for influencer houses and brand houses like the Alix Earle x Poppi house in 2024. This shift from the love of the music to a way of promoting brands and creating shareholder value is something we will touch on in todays session. From this marketing style and the rise of technology, Instagram, Tumblr, TikTok, influencer and celebrity presence soared. The circular approach of "we fly you out, house, feed, clothe you and you post some content" has been used since the dawn of time now (it's been 10 years lol). Compared to the typical camping, influencers are housed at mansions and Airbnb's with luxurious amenities. The question becomes, how has this shift in marketing affected the way that Coachella goers dress?

2015 Coachella

In the picture to left if you are on the computer (Idk where it'll be on your phone), we see 2015 style. I feel like freedom is a common theme. Flowing skirts, shirts. Straw Hats, headbands. This is the beginning of campaigns. No one is saying in any regard that they had to live in a hole, BUT I am sure they weren't having as luxurious of an experience as now. Maybe there was like a Forever 21 photo booth lol. Anyways, the ability to move freely and enjoy music had to have some sort of influence on the clothing choices, and maybe they were asking themselves "how can I stay cool during the heat in the day and chill of the night?" "Are my shoes going to be walkable all day?" You see what I'm saying? YES, people still ask this question now, but celebs and influencers, if they went, I mean probably had to stay if you pick up what I'm putting down. Freedom, music, and community I feel like radiates from this. Imagine some old indie music comes on like Rex Orange County and then you're going to see Daft Punk later. Yes it was about clothes but also experience. Now you see influencers pulling up in clothing that looks immovable. It almost appears as if they lost any sort of style except what the brand that brought them there wants them to dress in. Additionally, on the other end, it seems like people are grasping at STRAWS to look trendy or "cool." Like I almost cried

ummmmm....

laughing looking at Haylee Baylee's outfit with the weird long pink braids and like fishnet rhinestone overlay dress. LIKE WHAT IS THAT. I am not sure if this is related to anyway when there were different entrances for VIP so they would come for pictures basically and that's it (that has since changed this year), but I KNOW if you are dancing and there for the music, you are not surviving in that outfit. I'm all for ripping the outfit for looks but festivals are long and grueling. One of the only influencers who's outfits I enjoy is Zoifish. She puts on a fit EVERY TIME that actually seems functional (she the girl at the beginning of the post). Per usual, is this rhetorical in nature and is there an answer, no. I just be word vomiting. BUT, I definitely feel like the influencer invasion is taking away from the fashion of Coachella. The style of it, the freedom of it, has shifted to a more restricted feeling of clothing and garment creation that I cannot say I enjoy. This year has been extremely disappointing in my eyes, and until we start to find a way to bridge the gap of status and wealth, expression through clothing will continue to be performance based and creativity will be missing. But maybe that should be the focus. Maybe people should focus more on the ARTISTS and art there than promoting themselves online. Who knows.

The Effect of Tariffs on your Shopping Addiction

Hello chicas!! Welcome to Professor Jules's Ted Talk.

New tariffs imposed on key materials and goods in Mexico, Canada, and China may cause your shopping addiction to come to a slow halt. Unless you got a bag girl, then you probably good. But for my future law school a**, I don't have the moola to spend the way it is. I know this is a different topic than we normally talk about. No fun dialogue on shape, artistry, or trends you can catch walking outside. However, I think this can be a cool way for us all to learn the impacts of decisions on business!! Yay right!! Okay let us get into it. Let's bring you to ECO001. One of the first things you learn is the idea that the cost of tariffs is often passed onto or transferred to the consumer. The brands can absorb the cost but it is normally passed onto the consumer as it can significantly raise the cost of importing the good affecting the cost of goods sold. Businesses often operate on a tight margin (how much money a company keeps after paying for costs), so as you can imagine, it is not that frequent that they absorb the costs. Let us continue. Mexico, Canada, and China are major sourcing hubs for the fashion industry supplying textiles, apparel, and accessories. These materials are essential to fashion. Think of cotton, synthetic fabrics, dyes, and fasteners, which are price elastic (sensitive to price hikes or price change). March 4th, the new administration plans to impose 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada, and it also imposed an additional 10% tariff on China in the most recent trade fights. 25% on aluminum and steel imports. These tariffs have a large impact on the fashion industry. Let's think of it in a more tangible way. A fashion designer put it this way in an interview. She could get a whole roll of 50 yards for around $18 if she bought it from China, but in New York, she gets the same exact color, and it is $80. Can you see the connection of how rather than absorbing costs, the cost of importing was just passed onto consumers? Here's another example. If the U.S. imposes a 25% tariff on imported leather handbags from Italy, a $200 handbag now costs the retailer $250 just to import. Originally it might be sold for $400 but now its price is raised to $450 or more. See what I'm saying? Additionally, 30% of all fashion brands produce in China currently.... so. yeah.... The goal is to create more manufacturing in the US for domestic goods. However, the fashion industry is heavily reliant on outsourced materials globally. Only 3% of clothes are made in America, yet America is the LARGEST importer of apparel in the world., yeah we might me screwed there, with most material coming from China and Vietnam. So now you may ask, what are the potential repercussions. For sectors like the luxury goods sector, there may not be as MUCH of a decrease in spending as it is notoriously inelastic. Even so, I have read articles about a slowdown. For the average consumer (me), there may be price increases as mentioned especially in price sensitive segments like fast fashion (bye bye shein ayayyaya). Brands may need to move manufacturing closer to home or move their supply chains to avoid tariff-heavy regions. Short term disruptions but long term gain. Brands may have to look for tariff-free trade agreements (agreements that let countries buy and sell goods without extra taxes) to shift sourcing locations. On the brighter side, domestic brands may gain a competitive advantage and international sourcing brands may struggle competing with localized production. Domestic brands may see increased demand, boost production, and job creation. However, low cost labor abroad is highly depended upon by the globalized industry so job creation may not directly offset that need. Overall, it will be extremely interesting to see what brands do next. If they choose to not pass on this tariff to consumers, they may absorb the cost reducing profit margins but staying competitive, source from other countries, or use cost-cutting strategies to use cheaper material and reduce quality (blehhhhh, I mean you American Eagle). I honestly am not an economist (I took intermediate micro eco thats it and it was hard af), but I can definitely conclude that there will be some ramifications from the tariff war in the industry. Could we see less seasons because of a decrease in materials and opportunity for garment creation? Because of a decrease in the manufacturing workforce available or affordable to brands? Who knows, but girl watch your spending from now on or keep a spreadsheet and keep an eye on your favorite tank from Garage's prices. I also hoped you learned something today as just because you love fashion doesn't mean you can't be educated as well!!!

The Bad B's (Bag Charms and Blind Boxes)

Labubus and Monchichi in pic

Calling all trinket girlies. Our time has come. Bag charms have been on the rise since last summer and girl I BE SEEING THEM EVERYWHERE. The idea of Jane Birkifying (that's how Im'ma spell it) your bag took the fashion world by storm in the fall. Hermes twillys, Gucci wiener dog bag charms, and Baggu LITERAL MINI PURSE charms have been seen everywhere. But for another class of people it has turned into a trinket bombardment, while cheaper per item it, adding up to hundreds if not thousands of dollars. Jellycats, Smiskis, Sonny Angels, Labubus, and other Popmart products have been running rampant in our bank accounts, me included. My school bag currently beholds a Smiski keychain, jellycat, and Sonny Angel already. However, per usual, you may ask Julia, what is the connection. Let us look a little deeper. The luxury sector prioritizes trinkets and accessories as a status symbol and creative outlet, but mostly it appears to be a way to follow trends as well. The blind box market has also boomed recently. People are gnawing at the bars of their enclosure to get the newest Labubu/Zimomo or Sonny Angel selling out stores like no other. Myself included :) The high of chasing a new box in hopes of a secret or mystery and the flow of serotonin excreted makes the experience addicting. Severely. Almost like the Squishmallow craze. Now combine the two. A blind box that can be on your bag? Ding Ding Ding, we have a winner.

Crybabys!!! and sonny hipper

Smiski and Sonny pictured

In culmination with girls notorious love for childlike toys and items that fulfill some sort of childlike desire, the blind box bag charm targets an overlapping audience creating scarcity in the market as only a limited supply are sold but they are highly valuable. Women are flying to stores like an.mé in New York to get there hands on a new Sonny, Monchichi, or Miffy, or finding a Popmart vending machine in a mall to grab the new Crybaby collection. Additionally, the factor of not necessarily pulling the one you want makes buying more boxes even more addicting, as you cannot sate the desire until you pull the pink Labubu or lion Sonny. In Asian markets like China, Singapore, and Thailand, this obsession is even crazier than the US. As a college girl, look around at people's backpacks after you read this. You will see a lot more plushy bag charms than you orginially thought and even some more luxury ones on a Longchamp or two.

I want a Hirono so bad (the lil guy on the left) and that's a Zimomo on the right

Even phones have become charmed up. Cars too. Sonnys, smiskis. ANYTHING. The question arose from a friend of mine, is there a right way to accessorize your bags? Now, there definitley is a way to probably make it ugly, let's be for-real for a second, but I think the most important thing is to have fun. This is a great way to have fun and express the interests you have in art, fashion, or anything. Find a cute Spiderman one if you enjoy marvel or buy a jellycat marshmallow if you're more cutesy and love a girly aesthetic. I think you can never go wrong when you stay true to you and your style/aesthetic. Some girls I've seen have about 7 Labubus on their bag and proudly rock that. While that probably is some sort of status symbol to show how many they have, I mean work girl do your thang. Beware of clashing colors, styles in a way that seems quite odd as we will put it. It is pretty hard to do but like girl don't put a baggu legit mini bag on your classy af Bottega Andiamo messenger bag. You see what I'm saying, but man if you find a way to make it work, go you girl. Otherwise, have some fun, and beware a dwindling fund of money if you take it on because its just so much fun.