As Glastonbury’s Worthy farm opens up for another year, Wonderland explores the style which has become synonymous with the iconic festival.
Glastonbury: ah, the mecca of British festival culture. In the depths of Somerset’s green fields, the five day music festival goes hand-in-hand with Britishness almost as well as a mug of English breakfast tea. Except, if you’re one of the lucky ticket holders, you’re more likely to be nursing a plastic cup frothing with cheap alcohol rather than a good ol’ brew (which, whilst drinking said plastic cup’s contents, it’s sure to muster up memories of rebelling against parents in a local park as a secondary school troublemaker, when WKD and Smirnoff ice were regular attendees).
Because, after all, where else is it socially acceptable to cascade through a kaleidoscopic state of pure ecstasy, escaping into a utopia free from the rigid pillars of normalcy, at the grand age of adulthood? Given the fact that Glastonbury’s guaranteed escapism requires one to fork out 400 quid for a ticket, it’s safe to say utopia comes at a hefty cost. A far cry from the one-pound price point at the festival’s inception, in 1970 (tickets included free camping, and free milk no less. We’re still confused over the latter). But, as the calendar rolls around, Glastonbury is due to enter its 55th year, and the long legacy of era-defining style – which sweeps its influence across Somerset’s Worthy farm in a billowing cloud of lace and flower crowns – remains a prolific reference for the fashionable zeitgeist.
“It’s like a cool Britannia”, Emily Evans describes it to me, as I catch up with the celebrity stylist over a morning phone call. After the typical digitally-induced struggle of deciphering technical snags, Evans and I divulge into conversation – the London-native is busy soaking in some rest and relaxation in her London home, as she’s flitting between projects amongst America and Britain, soon due to jet off to the coast of Southern Italy (jealous much?). The casual preamble subsides, leaving Evans and I ready to sink our teeth into Glastonbury talk, which the stylist proclaims gets its ubiquitous style from authenticity: “you can get mums and dads in crazy rain maks, and then you can also get your cool girls,” she says, “I think that’s what makes Glastonbury very British, eclectic, and authentic”.
A world away from the cowboy hats and precisely construed outfits, begging to be Instagrammed in the depths of California’s Coachella, which Evans remarks: “Oh my god, it’s like I need to turn into a cowgirl for the day”, she laughs, “they end up looking like a Halloween version of how they wanted to dress. I don’t like it when people go out and buy a brand-new pair of boots for [festivals], either they’re yours, or they’re not. Wear what you’ve got already, rather than trying to manufacture something”.
It’s not all doom and gloom for Coachella-heads, though. Evans explains that when festival-wear is executed carelessly, it inadvertently succeeds. Look no further than our pop-darling-of-now, who has beguiled music fans far and wide, Addison Rae, “she wore a sheer Chloé dress to perform at Coachella, it was so cool and effortless, and I think that’s what people loved”, Evans recounts. Rae has defiantly ripped the fashion rulebook apart since her ascent to famehood, so to speak, bringing effortlessness into 2025’s ever-growing fashion trends (see: Addison Rae went makeup-less for her album press run). Becoming the poster girl for a long list of icons, Addison Rae carries the torch lit by her predecessors: Kate Moss, Sienna Miller, Alexa Chung, and Cara Delevigne, to name a few.
“They just don’t try too hard”, Evans explains, “they don’t go with a full hair and make-up team, they keep it quite natural, it’s like an extension of their personal style”, she says. For those of you participating in festival season this year, Kate Moss circa 2005 is sure to be on your moodboard. Need a reminder? Prowling through a field thickly coated in mud, the supermodel stepped out in a glittering long sleeve top-turned-minidress, a belt purchased that same morning from a Glastonbury pop-up emblazoned in a studded “Glastonbury Rocks” graphic, and, of course, a trusty pair of Hunter wellies. “The amount of people that have tried to recreate [that picture]… I’m sure for her it was just something that she chucked on in the morning, and that’s become such a go-to Glastonbury moment”, Evans laughs, “she always does it really well, and she always will do it really well, it sums up her natural style”.
For Evans – who’s forayed about Met Galas, Baftas, The British Fashion Awards, dressing the likes of Ashley Graham, Bebe Rexha, and Nicole Scherzinger – key style points for Glastonbury stem from its flair for bohemian dress. “There’s always been a fantasy element to Glastonbury style, like an escapism”, she remarks. “I know for me included, there’s that sense of escape when the Summer comes…that inner-femininity wants to come out, I like exploring my girly, pretty, feminine side”, à la Chemena Kamali’s whimsical Chloé world. After debuting her collection for the Parisian atelier in February of last year, German-born Kamali has ushered in a new lease of life for Chloé. The proof is in the pudding, as the label’s sales are up by 138% since Kamali’s appointment.
Kamali’s swan song – a serenade of chiffon, lace, and wedges – has transcended from the 2010s to today, elevating from the pages of festival season and entering a new chapter in everyday life. Evans counts this down to Chloé, and bohemian fashion’s versatility, “Chloé has always stood for that effortless, carefree, pretty feminine vibe, and I think they’ve just always done it well”, she says, “particularly now, you’ve got people like Alexa Chung wearing it, who wore it years back, and wears it now, she still makes it relevant”.
So, where on earth does one begin when trying to conquer Glastonbury’s je ne sais quoi? Well, to put it briefly “wear something that you can chuck on if it’s freezing cold!” Evans confesses, ruminating on her days of donning a vintage white fur coat, “If you were to go out in London and you wore a mini dress, or whatever your vibe is, just wear that with some Wellington boots”, she explains. “If you’re going to go and buy anything, go to Oxfam, go to Traid and get a cool T-shirt to go with your favourite denim shorts, I like things to look lived in at these festivals rather than a brand new, shiny outfit”, which seems a pretty formidable message to follow by.
When it comes to festivals, the bottom line is that you’re there for a good time, regardless of how Instagrammable your OOTD is – even if you might want to pop a few pics on a film camera with your besties, it’s a waste of an outfit if not, right?
Words – Freya Goodchild-Bridge
