I’ve never felt more agedly out of touch than the time I arrived at Primavera festival in Barcelona. I’d worn what I’d thought was a failsafe outfit: a sheer, rhinestone-encrusted top over a skintight cycling one-piece.
The crowd around me, meanwhile, looked decidedly more low-key. In tank tops, khaki shorts, wrap sunglasses, mid-calf boots and lots and lots of black, they looked effortlessly cool, like they had just stepped out of a Charli xcx music video. Somehow, I’d completely missed the memo.
This was a silly oversight given that signs of a shift in festival fashion are everywhere. And while there is still space for the liberating maximalism and glitter-coated flourishes that millennials like me associate with festi-gear, a more pared-back, elevated everyday look seems to be taking hold. Just look at Coachella, the California festival that was historically a hotbed of elaborate, Insta-ready and often culturally appropriated outfits.
Synonymous with crochet dresses, gladiator sandals and questionable headpieces, it’s a celeb-fest wrapped in mesh, sequins and metallics, topped off with a flower crown. Isn’t it? Not judging by Coachella regular Kendall Jenner, who attended the festival this year in a white tank top with white Levi’s shorts, accessorised with a leather belt from The Row, Ann Demeulemeester biker boots and a suede shoulder bag.
As for headgear? Nothing more than a faded Adidas baseball cap. Jenner wasn’t the only one exhibiting a normcore shift at Coachella. Her pal Hailey Bieber wore a vintage windbreaker one weekend and a hoodie with running shorts the next. Katy Perry and Justin Trudeau wore matching white T-shirts.
Marco Capaldo and Lily Allen in Barbour
Jed Cullen/Dave Benett/Getty Ima
And while there’s no Glastonbury this year, the best celebrity looks that came out of Worthy Farm in 2025 showed similar restraint. See Lily Allen in a black Barbour worn as a dress, or Margot Robbie in an olive green Miu Miu mini dress with knee-high leather boots. There was plenty of denim too, from Ncuti Gatwa in jorts and an ecru waistcoat to Pixie Geldof and Sabrina Elba in jeans.
Somehow, each of these looks made tonal neutrals and everyday staples feel fresh and festival-ready, rather than sartorially indifferent. It’s a look that’s pleasingly easy to imitate, because the pieces might already be waiting in your wardrobe. If not, a few new rules of festival fashion to live by this year…
If in doubt, think Kate Moss in the Noughties
Getty Images
Wellies are all well and good if you’re heading to a muddy campsite, but can look a bit tragic if you’re off to a London day festival (especially if they’re box fresh). Instead, chuck on a pair of boots you didn’t think you’d wear again until autumn came around. They need to be flat, but bonus points if they’re mid-calf and moto-style, or slouchy knee-highs.
If in doubt, look to the ultimate festival fashion pin-up: Kate Moss in the Noughties. In her golden era, Moss wore lamé tops with jeans, military waistcoats with micro-shorts and a gold Lurex mini with muddy black wellies – all of which have remained on the collective moodboard ever since. It’s this interplay of grunge and glamour that you’ll want to aim for this festival season, rooting one outré piece in the effortless everyday.
This kind of elevated maximalism is also firmly on trend and has been everywhere on recent runways, chiefly thanks to Matthieu Blazy’s joyful first collections at the helm of Chanel. So if you want to wear that feather-trimmed top, do, but maybe pair it with some mid-wash, straight-leg jeans.
Alexa Chung making yellow slip dresses happen at Glastonbury
Jed Cullen/Dave Benett/Getty Images
Another failsafe festival fashion muse is, of course, Alexa Chung, who has shown that the cornerstone of festival fashion is a Barbour jacket. Whether it’s a classic Beaufort over a blue Issey Miyake pleated minidress or a longline parka over a butter yellow Dôen midi, Chung has made the case for a trusty Barbour countless times over the years.
Try vintage or resortwear
A great vintage piece is now the festival Holy Grail, so head to your local store or scour Vinted, eBay and Vestiaire. A retro track jacket is near the top of the fashion wishlist, but if you don’t have time to source once, Reformation has a metallic mauve option that would be perfect for a grown-up festival look. Another idea, rather than being drawn into naff “festival’ collections, is to look at resortwear.
It may be primarily designed for sun-drenched days in Amalfi, but it also hits a fun, free note that can feel just right in a packed-out festival field. If the budget doesn’t stretch to Dioriviera and Chloé à la Plage, look to Australian label and fashion favourite SIR., which blends directional silhouettes with original prints and fabrications. Try its open-weave textured crochet-knit halter top with a funnel-neck jacket and jorts for a look that will make rhinestone mistakes feel like a distant memory
