Fashionistas refuse to be stuck in the mud
(Reuters)Updated: 2007-06-27 16:22
Glastonbury Festival, the world's biggest greenfield arts and music festival,
is a challenge for any self-respecting rock fashionista.
Torrential
downpours in south-west England throughout the weekend meant any rocker's outfit
had to be able to cope with the most extreme weather conditions.
Revellers stroll through the mud during the Glastonbury music festival. [Reuters]
"Festival chic" - a combination of practicality and stylishness - proved elusive for most festival-goers, who sacrificed any pretence of glamour and trudged around in ponchos, gumboots and mud-sodden jeans.
At the previous festival, in 2005, the British model Kate Moss grabbed fashion headlines when she wore a gold lamé micro-dress and black gumboots, the ultimate festival chic outfit.
This year, Moss showed up for her partner Pete Doherty's Babyshambles set in calf-length high-heeled black boots with black leather trousers, a black-and-gold belt and a black, shimmery top. She took to the stage briefly to sing with Doherty.
This year, minidresses, skirts and shorts all proved practical for women, as muddy legs were wiped clean a lot easier than jeans or tights. Sunglasses hide signs of tiredness or hangover and immediately inject glamour into any outfit despite the rain, one festival-goer pointed out.
But a significant number of revellers opted for fancy dress. Men in ball gowns or Borat-style G-string swimwear and children with fairy wings were common sights, as were revellers wearing face paint, Chinese hats and masks.
A particular favourite costume was the wedding dress. More than 700 wedding dresses were sold over the weekend, to be worn for fun and as an accessory for the "weddings" held in the Chapel of Love and Loathing in the Lost Vagueness Arena.
Three best friends, Annie, Sharon and Milly, were all wearing wedding dresses. Milly's and Sharon's dated from Sharon's real-life weddings, a phenomenon Milly described as "modern life".
The most popular boots at the festival were plain and dark, although there were also many floral and patterned pairs in evidence. The Arcade Fire singer Regine Chassagne wore gumboots on stage.
Fashion supporting charity was also big at the festival. The designers Katharine Hamnett and Stella McCartney both designed special-edition T-shirts and vests for the event.
Hamnett designed a T-shirt for Youth Music with "Revolting Youth" on the front and advice about being politically active and contacting members of parliament on the back. McCartney produced a psychedelic rainbow vest for Oxfam.
On-stage fashion has also been interesting. The Guillemots' lead singer, Fyfe
Dangerfield, wore a purple suit; the Killers' Brandon Flowers wore a silver lame
suit; the Kooks' Luke Pritchard wore his signature white T-shirt; the singer
Lily Allen wore a pink maxidress; and Iggy Pop went topless with
jeans.
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