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Marie Claire
Marie Claire
Lifestyle
Kelsey Stiegman

No, Tyla's Coachella Outfit Wasn't Supposed to Reference Britney Spears

Tyla performs during the 2025 Coachella Valley Music And Arts Festival Weekend 2 - Day 1 on April 18, 2025 in Indio, California in a bra and fringe shorts.

Reboot culture has reached an all-time high. Television shows and movies are pretty much all remakes, and on the red carpet, outfits are copied from iconic looks that came before. (Zendaya dressed as Cher, Margot Robbie channeling vintage Barbie, Sabrina Carpenter as Madonna, etc.) No wonder when Tyla graced Coachella's stage over the weekend, fans immediately began speculating her outfit had something to do with the legendary Princess of Pop, Miss Britney Spears.

On April 18, the "Water" singer performed for the second time at the iconic Indio music festival. She was dressed for the Colorado Desert heat in an underwire bra and micro shorts—this year's standard Coachella uniform. Though there were undoubtedly dozens of girlies in the crowd wearing similar 'fits, hers left the entire internet talking.

Tyla wore a green printed mesh bra and a pair of teeny-tiny denim shorts, which she folded down at the waist to further emphasize their low-rise cut. The cheeky bottoms were lined with beaded fringe, feather-like tassels, and silver safety pins. She continued this energy with a silver body chain-necklace hybrid that was dripping with teardrop-shaped gems.

Tyla performs at Coachella 2025 weekend 2 on April 18, wearing a mesh bra and fringe shorts. (Image credit: Getty Images)

With the water droplet-inspired jewels, one could easily assume Tyla's costume was a tribute to her hit song, "Water." But many associated it with a different pop star entirely. Droves of fans took to the internet to confidently compare the 'fit to one of Britney Spears's most famous on-stage looks.

For her historic performance at the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards, Spears stepped out in a green chiffon bra and a pair of short-shorts, which were embellished heavily with scarves and fringe.

Fans began comparing her performance 'fit to Britney Spears's famous 2001 VMAs look. (Image credit: Getty Images)

More than two decades later, Tyla's outfit certainly could be an intentional tribute—both looks were worn during career-making performances and shared several key garments. But according to her, this was no reboot.

On April 20, the star responded to a fan theory on X, which claimed her look was "inspired by the icon Britney Spears." The pop star wrote back: "Love her but I just thought the outfit was fly…no inspo." Her usual stylists, Lee Trigg and Ron Hartleben, haven't commented on her Coachella mood board yet.

No inspo, no shade—just two stylish stars in their element.

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