Expect color and lots of it at the Instagram pad set to launch during the first weekend of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. Digital artist D’ana Nunez of COVL wouldn’t have it any other way.
The artist was tapped by the social media platform to serve as art director of its first Coachella house, which it’s calling Instagram Desert Chill, and which will be home to live sets on Saturday from Simi and Haze, Siobhan Bell, Snoh Aalegra, Harry Hudson and Omar Apollo. Augmented reality filters will also be released in conjunction with the house’s reveal.
Nunez is the founder of COVL, which stands for Craft Onward Versatility and Lifestyle, a brand housing her body of multimedia work, which has been commissioned by companies such as Foot Locker, Nike, Puma and Red Bull.
“I wanted to do an abstract approach of what the desert would look like during the evening,” Nunez said of the house’s design. “I incorporated a lot of vibrancy and the quirky vibe of Palm Springs and the Seventies. It’s taking the COVL world and the Instagram world.”
A photographer will take photos of some of the guests during the Instagram event, which Nunez will rework with a technique she calls “doodle bombing” using her iPad Pro and pencil to doodle on top of the photos for a mixed-media effect and added dimension. The technique, which she began doing about three years ago, is what has helped define her aesthetic.
That she’s working with a tech company as large as Instagram is something she had hoped for.
“I am a huge believer in manifestation and I remember last year where I told my friend ‘I’m going to activate at Coachella whether it’s with a brand or if it’s by myself.’ So it feels surreal,” she said. “I still can’t believe it.”
Instagram isn’t the only tech company riding on the buzz surrounding the annual music festival. Alibaba for the first time is activating around the festival via its Tmall brand. Tmall has partnered with YSL Beauté for an event Thursday at the Parker Palm Springs. Amazon has merchandised around the festival with a store built out with a festival assortment that includes everything from sunglasses and bug spray to apparel and nail art.
Instagram Desert Chill is the first time Nunez has worked with the social media company and comes ahead of her foray into selling product for the first time later this month via her web shop.
“This is huge for me,” she said. “I figured with this Instagram opportunity, it would be a really smart way to venture into the product space, being that my audience has been asking for COVL products.”
Her first product offering includes a sports bra, yoga shorts, limited-edition prints, a unisex matching shirt and short set, reversible bucket hat, beach towel, phone cases and a tote bag.