Coachella Is a (Rich) Focus Group for Designers

With Coachella kicking off today, we thought New York’s designers — especially those stuck here in the drizzle — might be jaded about clicking through slideshows of sun-kissed Californians in their crop tops, feather earrings, and cross-body bags. But an informal survey of those at Donna Karan’s "Fashion for Haiti: One Million Hearts" event at Urban Zen last night proved street-style fatigue has yet to plague the festival circuit. For some designers, the steady stream of summer festival coverage offers great marketing — and market research.

“We as a brand put out different suggestions for your ‘hashtag’ festival wear,” said Mara Hoffman, who happened to be wearing a festival-friendly geometric printed mini-dress with ankle boots. “A lot of our bathing suits can get paired with shorts and jeans, and sort of layering it with print on print on print. We kind of push it out there for those girls who are looking to break it all out.”

Via: Coachella Is a (Rich) Focus Group for Designers