From nipple pasties to giant wings: five style trends at Glastonbury

Glastonbury style is a microcosm of collective silliness, subcultures and site-specific codes. This year, thanks to an almighty buildup of anticipation and planning, it’s all the more exuberant. Here are some of the key looks at Worthy Farm.

Flesh

Glastonbury’s biggest trend is not a piece of clothing, rather the absence of it. Women arrived sporting tiny tops and the confidence required to pull off a pair of chaps with just a high-cut bikini underneath. By day two, some had ditched even this scant coverage in favour of novelty nipple pasties, with a few taking the trend to its logical conclusion to go fully naked. “Everyone is out for the kill,” says the stylist and founder of vintage clothing shop Chillie London, Natalie Hartley. “There’s no body shaming, and with so many clubs closing down, there’s been nothing else to dress up for.” Or undress for.

Team styling

Having been separated during the Covid pandemic, many Glastonbury-going friends appeared keen to demonstrate their allegiance to each other with coordinated costumes. From two men in head-to-toe silver, matching Super Mario outfits, the 110-strong coven of wizards, all with matching pointy blue hats and velvet capes, and the countless Hawaiian shirt lad crews, the coord costume phenomenon arose from “the power of group chat”, says Katy Lubin, Lyst’s VP of brand and communications, “which became a defining cultural force over the pandemic – there’s a constant chatter in a way we didn’t used to have, which would have been buzzing away planning all this.” Also, being lost is much less painful if you can ask if anyone’s seen, say, 100-odd blue-caped wizards.

Bucket hats

The easiest way to join Team Glasto is to don a bucket hat. “Go vintage or go Prada,” says Hartley. They are, after all, a 90s throwback, though mostly it’s a trend among those too young to remember, says Lubin, “and plays into their obsession with all things 90s and 00s”. Searches for bucket hats on the secondhand fashion app Depop are up 21% in the last three months. “Many will have shopped vintage to find something that only they’re going to be wearing,” says Lubin. The hats also keep the rain off, hide unwashed hair and offer shade for hungover eyes.

Queer culture

From rainbow tutus to glitter beards, there’s no forgetting at Glastonbury that Pride celebrated its 50th anniversary this year. “When the most exciting, dynamic energy is coming out of queer culture, of course everyone’s going to take this amazing Pride moment and dial it up,” says Lubin.

Giant wings

How can you grab fellow festivalgoers’ attention without resorting to stilts or a giant flowerpot on your head? Answer: statement wings and carnival capes. Raise your arms in the air and you instantly become an art installation, or just keep them by your side for more introverted moments. “Glastonbury produces this flood of social media content because everyone wants to capture these memories of having a great time,” says Lubin. “If you can wear something that really stands out, that’s going to be all over TikTok.” Not to be confused with regular fairy wings, those Glasto staples that sit with pixie ears, flower crowns and pink cowboy hats as part of the furniture.