Tiffani Faison
Tiffani Faison, who lives in the South Loop near Grant Park, has been attending Lollapalooza since 2016. “This year is a lot more acts to get to know, exposure to different genres,” said Faison, 36. Faison sported a Lauryn Hill T-shirt and a hand-printed skirt featuring the Ghanaian flag. “My friend brought this skirt back from New Orleans,” Faison said. Her everyday style, she said, is “normally uppity urban,” heavily featuring brands like Birkenstock, Yeezy and Off White. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)
Marissa Oesch
Marissa Oesch, 26, embellished her own cowboy hat as a double tribute to Taylor Swift and Friday afternoon performer Sabrina Carpenter. “I’ve seen other people do it before, and I just had to incorporate the rhinestones,” said Oesch, who also saw Carpenter’s show at House of Blues on Thursday. Oesch, who lives in Peoria, was thrilled to experience her first Lollapalooza. She described her personal style as unique and bedazzled. “I love a sparkle, I love bling,” Oesch said. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)
HD Walenga
HD Walenga, 24, was grateful for his bucket hat-bandanna combo when Friday’s temperatures soared into the eighties. He chose today’s ensemble because “it’s the closest I could be to not wearing clothes.” Walenga, a first-time Lolla attendee hailing from Namibia, says he tries to bring something unique into most of his outfits. “You could say it’s a little eccentric,” Walenga said of his personal style. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)
Eric Uribe and Maegan Walton
When asked about his and Maegan Walton’s matching cow-print ensembles, Eric Uribe said, “We’re gay cowboys. That’s all it is.” Uribe, 28, usually dresses casually. Traveling from Fresno, CA to attend, he saw Lollapalooza as an opportunity to have some fun with fashion.“ “I usually dress like Adam Sandler, in baggy clothes,” said Walton, 24, who lives in Griffith, Ind. “So this is out of my comfort zone, but I love it.” (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)
Mahliyah Chelikas
Loose knits paired with flowy skirts were a hot fashion choice at Lollapalooza on Friday. Mahliyah Chelikas, 21, knitted her cherry-inspired top herself. The final outfit “is kind of like a cherry blossom,” Chelikas said. She’s been knitting for five years, with a blanket as her biggest project to date. Chelikas, who lives in the south suburbs of Chicago, was most excited to see Kendrick Lamar on Friday. She described Lollapalooza as “a vibe, but it’s hot as [expletive].” (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)
Andrew Meggs
Andrew Meggs, a 28-year-old artist from Memphis, Tenn., saw Lolla as an opportunity to turn the flowy clothes he wears around the house into festival streetwear. Meggs, who sported a sunflower print over black layers, said he tends to dress to his mood. Today, he also dressed based on “trying not to melt in the heat.” Meggs has been growing his beard for a decade with no end in sight. He also added tons of accessories in order to make his own music as he dances to Friday’s headliners. “I love jewelry and stuff because it dangles and jingles,” Meggs said. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)
Jason Kelley
Jason Kelley, 33, opted for a sparkly ensemble complete with colorful braids to celebrate day two of Lollapalooza. Kelley sourced most of his outfit from Etsy, leaning toward a red and pink color scheme at the last minute. “I dress really bummy a lot,” said Kelley, who hopes to keep attending Lolla for years to come. “This is just for special events.” (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)
Brock Morlan, Franki Morlan and Miller Morlan
The jury’s still out on whether Miller Morlan, age 2 months, enjoyed his first music festival. But passers-by certainly enjoyed the color coordination between Miller’s noise-canceling headphones and tiny Sincere Engineer tee. “It was super easy to bring him in,” said Miller’s mom Franki Morlan, 32. “Lolla is super accessible.” Morlan’s brother, Kyle Geib, 34, is a member of Sincere Engineer, who played on the Bud Light stage early Friday afternoon. Seeing her brother in concert was “amazing,” Morlan said. “I’ve been waiting for this moment and it far exceeded all expectations,” said Morlan, who lives in Crystal Lake with husband Brock Morlan. As for the Morlans’ own outfits, style as new parents “is more like once upon a style,” Brock Morlan said. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)
Dorian Davis
Dorian Davis, 24, thrifted a variety of ties and a white corset from Village Discount Outlet to achieve one of Lollapalooza’s trendiest looks. “There’s this high fashion brand that makes something similar to it,” Davis said “And I thought, let me try that on my own.” Davis, a signed model based in Chicago, was inspired by Bella Hadid to craft the look. He also credits Beyoncé as a fashion icon, just like best friend Roy Staple. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)
Sam Hoang and Bang Nguyen
Sam Hoang, 26, and Bang Nguyen, 23, ditched their typical taste in streetwear to become ducklings for a day. “I saw the duck hats and thought, that’s going to be really cute,” said Nguyen, who lives in Atlanta, Ga. The pair met when Hoang traveled from Birmingham, Ala. to Atlanta for a rave. Hoang typically goes for “very urbany type outfits,” he said. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)
Jason Kelley
Jason Kelley, 33, opted for a sparkly ensemble complete with colorful braids to celebrate day two of Lollapalooza. Kelley sourced most of his outfit from Etsy, leaning toward a red and pink color scheme at the last minute. “I dress really bummy a lot,” said Kelley, who hopes to keep attending Lolla for years to come. “This is just for special events.” (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)
Jerry Ward and Bekah Baker
Though no one could tell, Bekah Baker, 23, and Jerry Ward, 33, were beaming under their helmets Friday afternoon. The duo met while working at Chili’s in their hometown of Newton, Iowa. Friday’s high-tech, high-concept couples costume was inspired by various anime, Baker said. “I’m alternative,” Baker said of the pair’s typical style. “He’s a dad.” (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)
Gabriella Bauer
Gabriella Bauer, who traveled to Lolla from Albuquerque, New Mexico, turned heads Friday afternoon with her poi routine. Poi, a form of visual art common at raves, involves spinning light-up balls on the ends of long strings. Bauer, 24, picked up the hobby during quarantine and has taken her show to rave destinations Lost Lands and Decadence. At Lollapalooza, she’s excited to branch out her music taste while beating the heat in swimwear. “I like to wear as little as I can at festivals because it gets so hot,” Bauer said. Bauer’s eye-popping cowboy hat is a tribute to Svdden Death, who performed on the Perry’s stage Friday night. Her friend Taylor Rizek wore a coordinating hat in honor of Subtronics, whose act followed. “We love to rave,” Bauer said. “We’ve seen them a million times.” (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)
Roy Staple
Roy Staple, 24, describes their personal style as “recreational demon and full-time bad [expletive].” The Chicago native sizzled and smoldered outside the T-Mobile stage in a thrifted pleated skirt, translucent gloves and their father’s boots. The outfit was “a little Renaissance mixed with a little Y2K,” Staple said. The gloves in particular were a tribute to Beyoncé, Staple said, and to Renaissance, Beyoncé’s most recent studio album. They allude to “the idea of old-fashioned mystique and leaving things to the imagination,” Staple said. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)
Alyssa Hardrath
Alyssa Hardrath, 22, opted for a Shrek-themed outfit to kick off her weekend at Lollapalooza. “I’ve loved him since I was a kid,” she said of the iconic cartoon ogre. “He reminds me of my dad.” It took Hardrath, who lives in Merrill, WI, six hours to paint a Shrek tableau onto her jean shorts. She thrifted her knit hat, complete with Shrek ears, to match. “I thought, well, I’m going green this year, so I’ll throw that in,” Hardrath said. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)
Brendan Mulcahy
Brendan Mulcahy started wearing his hair in a Mohawk as a child. Now 25, Mulcahy dyed his gravity-defying locks blue for Lollapalooza. “It started off when I was 8 or 9 years old looking for a fun thing to do one summer,” Mulcahy said. Though Saturday’s glitter will wash out, Mulcahy’s hair will stay blue for at least a month. The Las Vegas native thinks the colorful look will complement his wardrobe of mostly black hoodies. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)