Lana’s longtime hairstylist Anna Cofone shares her experiences of Coachella 2024 and how she created the timeless, old-school hair looks across the two weekends
Everything about Lana del Rey’s Coachella 2024 performances was classic Lana. From the setlist to arriving on the back of a motorcycle to the timeless, old-school glamour of her beauty, across her two sets she brought all the ingredients that together form her glitzy Americana-kitsch lore and have gained her cult status over the years. A key component of this aesthetic was, undoubtedly, Del Rey’s hair which, as Dazed wrote last year, “has always been in conscious symbiosis with her creative output”. The person behind the hair, who has been responsible for it since 2011, is longtime hair stylist Anna Cofone.
For Cofone, who hasn’t been to Coachella since Del Rey’s last performance in 2014, the atmosphere was electric. Even before her performance, the Lana fans were out in full force, decorating their cars with messages of support and paying homage with their fashion and hair. “Watching the evolution of how [Lana’s] looks affect culture and trends has been incredibly inspiring,” says Cofone. “At all her shows I’ve been going out into the crowd just to see how people wear their hair. Last year after the album cover images, we started seeing more and more people styling their hair with silk coloured bows and lace accessories so it was really fun seeing even more looks at Coachella.”
For Del Rey herself, however, these shows weren’t about the maximalist coquette ribbons and bows. Instead, the team wanted to keep things simple, while still being timeless, after having done so many different looks at the shows last year. Describing the look as ‘Hollywood waves in the desert,’ the hair was a glamorous call-back to both old Hollywood icons like Veronica Lake and Lauren Bacall, and to old-school Lana herself. “We were paying homage to the looks that were Lana’s signature look when we first started working together in 2011,” says Cofone, referencing the “Born to Die” era in particular.
Creating a hair look that is going to hold up not only through an entire hour-long performance, but one that is taking place in the middle of a desert, however, comes with its challenges. “There were so many factors: the heat, desert air, wind, not to mention two scenes dancing on a pole and swinging on a swing!” says Cofone. “I always have to think about how to make [the hair] last within the environment, the length of the performance, and the amount of dancing.”
For the opening weekend, the hair was loose and flowing, falling in soft waves down her back. To create the look, Cofone, who is an ambassador for Authentic Beauty Concept, used products from the range starting with the Flawless Primer and Hydrate Spray conditioner to create a smooth base. Shaping cream and Indulging Fluid Oil were also used on the mid-lengths and ends for hydration, heat protection and to help create structure, before the hair was blow-dried with a natural bristle round brush and the Tymo Airhype Hairdryer. Each blow-dried section was set with the Tymo Cue curling iron and pin curled to cool. The curls were then brushed out and hairsprayed, while the roots were teased to create volume and height.
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For weekend two, the hair was “kept in the same world,” Cofone says. The front sections of the hair were swept back and held in place with a vintage clip in the shape of a cross which Anna customised to lay over a beaded handmade black brocade clip, while Del Rey also added a long black veil for sections of the performance, matching it to her black leather rodeo queen outfit, complete with a sparkling rhinestone ‘Lana’ belt buckle.
“I’m so happy we did [keep things in the same world] because everything just worked so well together with the make-up and the custom-made Dolce & Gabbana looks,” she says. Seeing all the different elements come together was a highlight of the weekend for Cofone, who only flew in a few days before the show. “It was just incredible to watch that opening scene to the show and finally see the vision come to life on the big screens.” Another highlight was the closing track on the second weekend: “the finale scene of everyone dancing back down into the pit to get back onto the bikes… it felt so iconic.”