Exclusive: Alexa Chung’s Guide To Festival Fashion

Say what you will about festival fashion, but the grassy walkways of Coachella, Electric Daisy, Panorama et al are now bona fide fashion stomping grounds. But somewhere along the line it all got a little reductive, and the idea of festival dressing slowly became commodified, with just about every fast fashion brand offering up its own ready-made selection of what you should be wearing to watch Kanye West in a field. The result? Everywhere from Governors Ball to Benicàssim is a throbbing, homogenous sea of fringing and flower crowns. It's like the Wild West meets the Macy's Flower Show.

One person who has always offered something unique, whether she's setting foot on Great Stage Park (Bonnaroo) or the Empire Polo Club (Coachella) is Alexa Chung, who has shaped festival wardrobes more than anyone over the last few years. Expect her denim hotpants, Breton top, and over-the-knee socks look she first introduced to Glastonbury in 2008 to continue to be replicated by ardent fans this year.

But Alexa also confesses to being anti-festival fashion. And so she has used her wonderful fashion app Villoid (seriously, check it out) to create some mood boards, which we are premiering here, to offer some guidance and tips to avoid looking like a festival cliché.

Over to Alexa:

“Oh, festival fashion. When did it become a thing? My guess is about a decade after the dawn of the internet age. Gone are the days when you could roll around a muddy field, watch some bands you like, and indulge in some hard-earned binge-drinking without worrying someone might tag you in a picture of what you actually look like when doing all three simultaneously.” [Ed. note: binge drinking not recommended.]

“So now what? Well, without social media and fashion coexisting we wouldn’t have Villoid, so stop complaining right now and read my 'How To Guide for Festival Fashion,' which is a real thing whether we like it or not (not). Please note I do have Glastonbury Festival in mind as I write this, so I must apologize to those of you unable to attend and my advice to you would be turn on the radio and a hose, invite some pals round, and all try and fit in one sleeping bag.”

Scroll through to take a look at Alexa’s suggestions for rocking a musical festival in your future. There’s not a flower crown in sight, promise.

You can download Villoid for free from iTunes.