Coachella 2013: Santigold performs, Jason Wu dances at H&M; pool party
When I read the H&M; Loves Music pool party invite, I didn’t take the “pool party” part literally. H&M;, an official Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival sponsor for the fourth consecutive year, threw its first party Saturday. I imagined people dressed in long, sheer maxi dresses and high heels sipping cocktails next to a pool sitting in lounge chairs under umbrellas. When I arrived at the Merv Griffin estate in La Quinta where the party was held, I was in for a surprise.
After a short walk up some stairs to the back of the estate, I was greeted by the sound of splashing. The back of the house was full of people in bathing suits swimming in the pool and getting into boats that you could push around a small lake. A large stage was set up just beyond the pool area, and people lounged on Moroccan-inspired pillows and chairs.
It was a well-dressed crowd with people in well-cut bathing suits and sheer, beaded cover-ups, patterned minis with geometric cut-outs, high-waist shorts and bandeau tops, striped tanks, floral pattered pants, jackets and skirts and a ton of elaborate lace-up sandals. The array of accessories was also a sight to see, with wrists covered in their festival and party bands, spiked bracelets, wooden bangles, beads and metal cuffs. Preppy-looking guys in blue and pink polo shirts and khaki shorts were seen playing badminton and bocce ball.
When performer Santigold took the stage, everyone crowded around the main pool area to listen in. She wore a sheer, seafoam green dress over a yellow and orange bathing suit. Joshua Jackson, Diane Kruger and fashion designer Jason Wu huddled under an umbrella and danced away to “Disparate Youth.” Kruger was seen chatting it up with Wu for the majority of the afternoon.
Julianne Hough, Darren Criss, Sophia Bush and Justin Chatwin also made appearances at the party.
Around 4 p.m., people gradually made their way out of the poolside fete and back to the festival.
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