Tyla Says Look-Alike Coachella Outfit Not Inspired By Britney Spears

One of Tyla’s Coachella outfits had Britney Spears fans feeling nostalgic, but Tyla has revealed the look wasn’t intended as a nod to the pop icon.

Tyla, a South African songstress best known for her 2024 hit song “Water,” hit the Coachella stage on April 18, 2025, and one of her costumes consisted of denim mini shorts with flowing tassels attached, and a green bra top. The outfit quickly started getting comparisons to the costume Britney Spears famously accessorized with a live snake to perform “I’m A Slave 4 U” at the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards. But Tyla says the look wasn’t inspired by Spears.

In an April 20 X post, Tyla wrote, “Love her but I just thought the outfit was fly…no inspo.”

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Fans Responded to Tyla’s Controversial Tweet

Some fans found it hard to believe the outfit was created without Spears in mind. One commenter responded to Tyla’s X post, “Your stylist was probably inspired but u thought the outfit was cute.”

Another reacted, “Definitely was inspired by the legendary Miss Britney Spears.”

A third fan wrote, “Maybe not you but SOMEONE was inspired!!”

Architecture Studio Previously Revealed Behind-the-Scenes Secrets of Iconic Britney Spears 2001 VMA Performance

Spears’ performance at the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards during which she daringly danced with a live snake is one of her best-remembered shows. The CEO of Stufish, Ray Winkler, explained in a 2021 Design Week interview how his architecture studio helped make the performance happen.

Winkler said the absence of the huge LED screens that are a commonplace accessory on today’s stages caused the design team to be “freed from a limitation we didn’t know existed.” He explained that Spears stood out onstage because she wasn’t overshadowed by a “big, bright and dominant” screen.

Winkler says his team had to get creative, using a perfect blend of “choreography, lighting, stage set, colors, and textures” which all worked together to create the memorable moment.

The concept for the “Toxic” singer’s epic 2001 performance of “I’m A Slave 4 U” was “some kind of futuristic dystopian techno jungle,” Winkler recalled. A special lock was designed that could be easily opened by a human but safely contain a live tiger had to be created for the cage Spears climbed out of at the performance’s start.

Another challenge was designing the set to perfectly pop on the small screens of the audience’s living room TVs. “How a performance is viewed is still a major consideration for Stufish today, but now he says the driver is how things will look on a smartphone screen,” Winkler shared.