Festival fashion trends for 2019: Sustainability reigns supreme

Expect a surge in rented ensembles, vintage clothing and chunky sandals

(AFP/Getty)

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 a fundamental part of the billion-pound fashion industry that demands our attention every spring ahead of Coachella, the Californian music festival that kickstarts a jam-packed season, followed by the likes of Glastonbury, Reading and Parklife.

Over the years, festival dressing has become synonymous with a “more is more” aesthetic propagated by outlandish co-ords, sequin bodysuits, tasselled hot pants and, well, lots of things you’d probably never wear in your daily life.

But this can fortify a fast fashion culture, which sees shoppers shifting their habits to suit an ephemeral trend circuit that promotes cheap, short shelf-life clothes that cannot be easily recycled.

And in a society that is slowly becoming more attuned to the environmental consequences of such behaviours, the idea of buying something glitzy to wear just for a festival seems out of touch with the eco-conscious zeitgeist.

Some festivals have cottoned onto this and have taken action by pledging to ban glitter from their sites as part of a wider outlaw on single-use plastics – yes, glitter contains plastic.

But short of going all draconian and setting a dress code (“you can only enter if you’d wear that outfit in the office”) there’s little else festival organisers can do to encourage attendees to be more sustainable with their clothing choices. Hence, the onus falls on you, the stylish but environmentally-conscious festival-goer.

Ahead of Coachella, which started 12 April – cue swathes of stylish celebrities swanning around the desert in tie-dye and fringing – The Independent spoke to industry experts to find out how sustainability is informing festival fashion trends this year and what you can do to reduce your sartorial footprint.

The rise of the rental

Despite their best efforts, some people really can’t resist the lure of sequin-soaked garb and lavish bohemian robes, ie, the kind of clothing you could only get away with wearing on a muddy field, cider in hand. If this is you, then Hannah Craggs, senior youth editor at fashion retail analysts WGSN, suggests renting your festival fashion wardrobe.

“With consumer awareness and an appetite for sustainable solutions growing, retail rental has emerged as a viable option,” says Craggs.

“Exploring a millennial mindset, the market is now well acquainted with the sharing economy and while renting apparel is not a new concept in the formalwear sector, a number of new platforms, such as Hire Studio and Wear the Walk, are demonstrating a shift towards renting clothes in a wider context.”

EYTYS Buck coated cotton-twill jacket: £230, Saint Laurent corduroy shorts: £680, Ray-Ban round flash lenses in gold copper: £145, H&M cotton T-shirt: £3.99, Grenson Nanette black leather suede hiker boots: £275

It’s time to make the most of these channels when planning your festival wardrobe, says Craggs, especially if you want to wear something a bit more “out there”, because renting gives you an opportunity to do just that but with an eco-friendly twist.

Glitter, but not as you know it

Glitter is set for a sustainability makeover this festival season. While more than 60 UK festivals are planning to ban it from their sites as of 2021 due to it being primarily made from microplastics, fashion experts say it’s time to find environmentally friendly alternatives.

Cult Gaia Rhea hoop earrings: £85, MEEYE Symi tortoiseshell sunglasses: £68, & Other Stories oversized belted workwear jacket: £110, Ganni Shiloh tie dye-effect cotton bucket hat: £120, Madewell denim mini dress: £145

“Glitter face decoration isn’t going away, but more festival-goers will be seeking out planet-friendly versions like the biodegradable versions sold by In Your Dreams and The Gypsy Shrine,” explains Emily Gordon-Smith, director of consumer product at trends intelligence company Stylus.

One company that might be set to experience a surge thanks to a rise in demand for guilt-free sparkles is Eco Glitter Fun, which sells biodegradable glitter made from a cellulose film from eucalyptus trees.

“Consumers have become far more aware of the plastics crisis in the couple of years since we launched,” a spokesperson for the brand tells The Independent. “They demand sustainable alternatives and we are here to provide them. We find glitter is a fun and engaging way to start a discussion of how to reduce plastic consumption in other areas of their lives.”

Vintage clothing

Second-hand apparel sales are booming, says Gordon-Smith, who adds that repair and renew initiatives are currently “capturing the imagination”, which means that upcycled and pre-loved creations will be even more of a focus over generic fast fashion festival attire.

That means that vintage styles are setting the trend agenda this festival season. This theory has already been proven by global fashion search engine Lyst, which has identified some of the major trends for festival season by analysing the shopping behaviours of more than five million shoppers based on global search data and social media metrics.

Faithfull The Brand Genevieve dress: £146, Stella McCartney cat-eye metal sunglasses: £155, Balenciaga wheel logo-embroidered belt bag: £575, Accessorize resin square link earrings: £8, Tommy Hilfiger sporty neoprene flatform sandals: £60

These include 1990s staples such as bucket hats (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.

“We are expecting to see hazy nostalgia at play this season with lots of neo-hippy influences coming through,” adds Gordon-Smith. “Tie-dye is one of the biggest print trends for 2019 and is totally festival-ready.” Woodstock-inspired graphic T-shirts are also set to be popular, she adds.

Practical footwear that isn’t wellies

Wellies have become a festival must-have, but if you live in a city, chances are you don’t wear yours more than a handful of times a year.

The good news is that the latest festival fashion footwear trend is much more versatile, and can be worn just as easily on a beach in St Tropez as a grassy patch by the Pyramid stage.

According to Lyst, views of chunky sport-style sandals have been on the rise over the last three months and are currently up 31 per cent year on year, leading the company to believe this is the go-to footwear trend for festival season. In the last week alone, Lyst has seen a search for “Prada velcro sandals” every seven minutes.

“Sustainability is an issue that more and more customers care about on Lyst,” comments Lyst’s insights reporter, Morane Le Caer.

“While this won’t keep attendees from buying a few new pieces for festivals, mentalities are shifting, and festival goers who do decide to shop for new items will undoubtedly be thinking about the long term, investing in pieces that they know they will cherish and re-wear.” Bring on the chunky sandals.

Sportswear that doubles up as festival wear

It’s the best news for style-savvy cyclists since the advent of coloured helmets: cycling shorts and glasses have made the unlikely transition from humdrum sportswear to fledgling festival fashion trend.

Topshop tie dye T-shirt: £19, Prada clip buckle-fastening velcro strap sandals: £420, Le Specs meteor armour glasses: £98, R13 leopard-print canvas hat: £130, Ninety Percent stretch-jersey shorts: £80

Lyst’s data reveals that the former, a style loved by the Kardashian clan, is having a “big fashion moment” across the globe, with searches for “rainbow biker shorts” up by 350 per cent – not exactly the kind you’d expect to see on a pro cyclist darting through the Tour de France.

As for the glasses, typically worn by cyclists to prevent bugs and dirt from flying into their eyes, Lyst states that futuristic and mirror shades have seen a “huge surge in demand” over the last three months.

It’s kooky and unconventional, but the multipurpose aspect of such items makes them environmentally sound too.