Searches for Gucci spiked by 101 per cent after Harry Styles’s sequined Gucci jumpsuit stole fashion headlines at Coachella, but does that mean we’ll all be shimmying through summer in rainbow paillettes? The Harry Styles effect is just one factor we’ll see playing out in the festival fashion of 2022. Brace yourselves for fields full of Y2K looks, California-inspired crochet and the fruits of a pandemic spent scouring Vestiaire for vintage gems. The good, the bad and the ugly of festival fashion is back. Here’s what you need to know.

The Noughties are going nowhere

Thought Gen-Z fashion fans would have retired their rhinestones and hitched their low-slung belts back up by now? Think again. “Following our post-pandemic shift towards ‘the joy of dressing up’, we’re thrilled to begin to see festival goers use moments like Coachella as opportunities to really shine, quite literally…” says Libby Page, senior market editor at Net-a-porter.com. “We’ve seen minidresses, pleather pants, corsets and miniskirts all come together in true Y2K fashion.”

With sequined pieces generating 35 per cent more searches on the fashion shopping app Lyst since Coachella officially kicked off festival season, MyTheresa.com is also buying into the diamanté-studded trend keeping Depop sellers in business. When asked what the e-tailer is throwing its weight behind, Tiffany Hsu, vice president of womenswear and kidswear buying, says simply: “Anything Y2K-inspired!” The Attico’s triangle bag and Versace’s jelly-style platforms are top sellers as days spent frolicking in sunny fields approach.

Crochet is about as Coachella as it gets

“I am obsessed with crochet bucket hats and currently eyeing up the one from Loewe’s Paula’s Ibiza collection,” notes Hsu, who is just one of the shoppers causing searches for crochet to double in the past two weeks. Page has also bookmarked the psychedelic sets from Jonathan Anderson’s seasonal tie-up with the White Isle’s beloved luxe bohemian brand. “They have taken playful to the next level this summer, providing everything you need for your festival wardrobe, across ready-to-wear and non-apparel,” explains Page, who pinpoints Loewe’s colourful update to its Anagram Basket Tote as an investment buy that will make a splash by the cider bus.

Matchesfashion.com is catering to boho-luxe fans hoping to prompt green-eyed queries of, “Where did you get that from?” in the VIP bars. “The artisanal mood combined with the strong use of colour we saw on the spring/summer 2022 runways is a great way to elevate festival dressing this summer,” says head of womenswear, Liane Wiggins, who cites Gabriela Hearst’s crochet dress and Wales Bonner’s green and yellow chevron ribbed knits as crafty pieces to flounce through Babbington in on your way home.

Crochet too optimistic for the Great British weather forecast? Net-a-porter.com is also betting big on its new sunset linen Jacquemus capsule, which will surely provide a vitamin D hit if the clouds say otherwise. Page recommends teaming the fuchsia minidress and cropped shirts with bucket hats by JW Anderson – an accessory that will be useful come rain or shine. Bag yours quick; bucket buys are up 62 per cent, according to Lyst.

Beads and bags are your entry point into festival chic

Prada’s sell-out raffia totes are back in stock and selling fast thanks to the delicious gelato shades on offer. While these capacious holiday totes are ideal for lugging SPF and San Pel from campsite to lakeside spot at, say, Wilderness, city festival goers will be slinging shimmery visions of Balenciaga’s Le Cagole over their leather jackets when hitting Victoria and Heaton Parks. Revellers looking to inject a touch of “festival” into their looks without the designer price tag can join the crowd behind the sudden 130 per cent surge in beaded bag searches. Sunglasses chains and phone case straps – like String Ting’s supermodel-approved iPhone enhancers – also do the job.