Coachella is happening this weekend and although 5000 miles away in sunny Cali and not readily on my doorstep, it’s still the ultimate festival when it comes to checking out fashion.
Festival Fashion was once a case of simply squeezing into your jazziest pair of denim shorts, throwing on a crop top and splashing some glitter on your cheekbones.
Now, it’s at the centre of a billion-pound fashion industry that demands our attention every spring. Coachella kickstarts a jam-packed season, followed by our own Glastonbury, Reading, Parklife etc.
Over the years, festival dressing has become increasingly synonymous with a “more is more” attitude, dominated by co-ords, sequin bodysuits, tasselled hot pants and, well, lots of things you’d probably never wear in regular daily life.
But it is also a symptom of fast fashion culture, with shoppers buying masses of short shelf-life clothes that cannot easily be recycled, and frequently only get worn once.All in a society that is slowly becoming more aware of the environmental consequences of such behaviour – (which I am guilty of, I must confess). So, to the eco-conscious amongst us the idea of buying something glitzy to wear just for a festival might seem a tad out of touch.
Some festivals have cottoned-on and taken action, pledging to ban glitter from their sites as part of a wider outlawing of single-use plastics – because of course glitter contains plastic. Glitter face decoration isn’t likely to go away, but more festival-goers will be seeking out planet-friendly alternatives, like the biodegradable glitter made from the cellulose film from eucalyptus trees.
So what does the stylish but environmentally-conscious festival-goer do, whenunable to resist the lure of sequin-soaked body paint and lavish bohemian robes?
Renting and outfit for the weekend gives you the opportunity to give it your best festival shot, but with a re-usable twist. Costume shops generally stock plenty of one-offs that are festival worthy.
If outfit rental is not your thing, I would opt for Vintage clothing for 2019’s festivals. Second-hand apparel sales are booming and the “repair and renew” mindset is currently pervading festival landscape.
These include 1990s staples such as bucket hats (online searches are up 54 per cent since January), tie-dye (up by 88 per cent) and neon, which has seen a 96 per cent increase in searches in the past three months.
Wellies have become a festival must-have, and we all have to dig them out year in, year out. So, at least we can all feel good about the re-usability of one festival standard item.
