'chella & Revolve - same as it ever was
I know, I know. What could be a more overdone topic than Coachella? Each spring, our disdain and contempt for the Palm Springs music festival known as ‘chella finds its way back into the conversation.
My friend Grace and I once spent a day in 2016 acting on social media as if we were at Coachella, pointing at random NYC street objects (a street light, a trash can, a crumpled up newspaper), which we then turned into a band name. For example, we would speak in our best Valley girl voices and say into the camera, “Checking in from ‘chella! We’re so excited to see Lamp Post’s set, but first we have V.I.P for Crumpled Paper.” It was funny to us, and maybe three other people who watched our Instagram stories.
I don’t want to totally shit on the festival here, but it opens itself up to criticism and online cringe. It’s part of the experience, both as an attendee I would imagine, and as an online spectator.
The Coachellas of yore
The first weekend of the music festival kicked off this past weekend, and we had our first glimpses of what it was like. In between TikToks of Harry Styles’ set and him introducing Shania Twain, another moment began to garner attention - Revolve Festival. Every hyper-online reporter surely will be writing about this today (I’m looking at you Taylor Lorenz), and while I am no reporter, I would love if you would indulge me as I share my two cents.
Over the weekend, TikToks began rolling out about the apparently ill-fated 2022 Revolve Festival, with it being compared to Fyre Fest levels of disaster. The popular clothing company once again hosted its annual event, which is planned around Coachella. Influencers are invited to attend and document their experience and promote the brand, while experiencing lavish parties tailor-made for social media, free clothing and other perks. While not my belief, to be invited by the brand to this event or to achieve Revolve Ambassador status is considered to be one of the pinnacles of “making it” as an influencer, as the brand has been the darling of content creators everywhere.
It wasn’t long however that we began to see that this year’s event was less than stellar, as Joseph Kapsch began reporting. Attendees were stranded and left in the hot desert sun, while - allegedly - clamoring over who was most famous and should therefor be saved first (it’s giving Titanic).
In a sense, Coachella and Revolve go hand-in-hand - overpriced, and they both give off the illusion of being exclusive. And when we’re speaking about Revolve here, I’m not so much talking about the clothing, but rather how they work with influencers and market themselves.
In order to better understand this as a whole, I encourage you to view the TikToks I’m linking below.
Alyssa Amoroso, aka publyssity, shared in a TikTok about her experience at a 2019 Revolve Festival. Another influencer named Meghan Rienks attended a previous Revolve Festival, and posted a TikTok with a comment comparing the brand as Shein for mean, rich girls.
Another TikToker posed a question I and I think many others often have, “Are we over influencer culture?”
“It’s the same girls doing the same poses in the same places in the same outfits. It’s fucking boring.”
It’s hard to disagree with that. And if you go to the one minute and three second mark of this TikTok, you’ll see that statement in motion.
Now, before it comes across that I’m on my high horse over here… yes, I own a Revolve item or two or three (I loved my 30th birthday dress). Yes, I do #sponcon (I promote my Parade discount code [code milliephanatic for 20% off], we can roast me). And YES - if I see a gorgeous backdrop, you can absolutely bet I’m asking my friends to take a photo of me. I am not excluding or absolving myself from this conversation, as I am actively contributing to it. And if I had the opportunity to go to Coachella? Put glitter on my face, give me a brimmed hat, and get me onto the next flight.
The pillars of Coachella photo backdrops - the Ferris wheel and the rainbow tower, Spectra
Recently, I’ve had the opportunity to speak to several college classes about having a career in PR/marketing, as well as a bit of my ~ influencing ~ hustle. Throughout my experience in speaking with these classes of Gen Z-ers, I’m continually amazed in the amount of young people who want to pursue influencing or content creation as a full-time career (although this shouldn’t come to a surprise to me). And please don’t read that as me judging their choices, as that’s not at all the case. I’m also in fear that with their extensive knowledge that Gen Z will take my job, but that’s another story…
So my question is - what is the future of influencing?
It’s the conversation we’ve had over and over again, as everything has become too curated and people are too much of a walking advertisement. Instagram has been reduced to an online shopping platform now, and trends are made for a single Instagram post. We’ve talked briefly before about the lifespan of trends today (shout out to the OG House of Sunny Hockney Dress). Nothing feels unique, special or exciting anymore. And again, I need to make it clear that I contribute to this on a near daily basis.
There’s a type of influencer I like to call the “copy-and-paste influencer.” One who simply copies and pastes whatever press release they receive as their Instagram caption, without a touch of originality to it. Of course this is the purpose of the press release - to provide accurate information and details, and I regularly include information directly from press releases on my blog. But it’s understood that a content creator would - and should - add their own personality. I fear for the copy-and-paste influencer, as authenticity, genuineness, and originality is something online audiences crave more and more.
Between the desire for more authenticity and the uptick in video content, that’s where the future of influencing is headed and already is. Past that though, I have no idea.
My final thoughts…There’s nothing more in this world that I love than a big, old PR flop, and previously I would gobble up every online take by any Tom, Dick or Harry like it was a Thanksgiving feast. But guess what - even I’m growing bored of that.