Becky Davies Blog

From Catwalks to Fields, Festival Fashion Reaches Fever Pitch

When you work in the fashion industry summer doesn’t just mean lots of festivals, it means lots of emails about how to look effortlessly glamorous – come rain, hail and or shine. My inbox is swamped months before we go hem-to-hem on a field, and this year, I’ve already counted seventy emails dedicated to these music events.

Harvey Nichols spoke of Festival Fever (the most popular subject box phrase), when plugging skinny dirt paint jeans by C.R.A.F.T, a Wildfox pink peace logo tank and studded Christian Louboutin hi-top trainers – all very feasible outfits for such an event.

But you will also have your more whimsical tribe with a penchant for a kaftan, or summer dress. Topshop – who held their own mini festival in aid of Teenage Cancer Trust - is a great one-stop-shop for such purchases.

This season, also backing a charity, is H&M who has produced a Fashion Against Aids festival-themed collection for the third year, with 25% of the sales donated to youth HIV/AIDS awareness projects. The brightly coloured ponchos (at £1.99) are excellent; and the affordable sleeping bags, deck chairs and tents complement the inspired clothing range.

Selfridges’s email also flew the Festival Fever banner, but this time in the form of an Ultimate Survival Guide for Festival Glamour.

Via its skin perfecting yurt, St. Tropez will once again be ensuring picture perfect skin backstage at 2010’s V Festival. Stay tuned to find out what this season’s range of festival inspired looks for skin will be…

As far as our feet are concerned, we obviously have the Hunter Wellingtons - a festival staple for the past decade. This standard now comes in just about every shade and hue, and also new editions in the Hunter Kids - the rainbow of Hunter core colours complete with reflective strips on the front and back; the Festival Wellington decorated with studs and straps; and also the lizard and snakeskin patterned ones. And for the more elegant festival kin Marc Jacobs has produced a quilted version with a (just about) manageable one-and-a-half inch heel.

But the caviar of festival footwear is surely unsurpassed Dubarry. Also known as Dubes, these all weather leather boots (a cowboy/biker/Wellington hybrid) are GORE-TEX® lined allowing feet to breath. Bruise Springstein took to the stage at Glastonbury last year in a pair, and Fern Cotton chose Dubes for this week’s Isle of Wight Festival.

Last week, with a comprehensive idea of what to wear and pack to boot, I attended the launch of Kirsty Robinson’s debut novel Grass Stains, which was supported by St. Tropez – a firm fixture in the festival field thanks to the introduction of its Wash Off and cosmetic lines.

The book, about a lost weekend at a festival and my own festival fever was helped along by the Tepee, palm reader, temporary tattoo parlour and an expert from party sponsors St. Tropez on hand to apply the Perfect Legs treatment.

That reminds me, before heading out to my local Hyde Park Trawling and O2 Wireless festivals I shall try out St. Tropez’s Skin Illuminator. Launched during London Fashion Week, the iridescent blue sheen is applied to cheekbones, décolletage, arms and shins for the luminous skin I’m requiring. Taxi…

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July Blog
July Blog


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