Festival fashion round-up: 6 top trends

Pick a print

Prints are a great way to inject interest in to your festival attire. The more adventurous go bright and go hard. Print on print, matched or mis-matched, anything goes, but this summer it was pineapples all the way. (Other fruits also featured, but, the spikey tropical delight reigned supreme.)

We have no idea exactly who started the pineapple print trend - whether it was inspired by Prada's SS11 fruit prints and trickled down or not (let's face it, almost every trend begins with Prada so it probably did). But, it's like one day everyone in New Zealand decided it would be a good idea to chuck the fruit onto some fabric. Stolen Girlfriends Club have the most recognisable pineapple print available to date, but the high street stores have also given it a go.

Get onto it immediately because our predictions are the trend ends as this festival season does.

GET THE LOOK:

Stolen Girlfriends Club has a tonne of pineapple print in their current collection and it's also available at cheaper chain stores - Glassons has a more subtle black and white print pineapple short.
Franks make colourful pineapple print swim shorts for the boys.

Perfect party shoe

Doc Martens

If one tries to think of a brand of shoe spotted on all the festival folk, Doc Martens has got to be it. It's a classic - erring on the 'rock' end of the musical spectrum, but also found on hipsters and prepsters alike. There's a style for everyone, they've been around for several years and they're widely available, which makes it an easy brand to adopt.

Festival-wise, it's the perfect shoe. Making your way through crowds of people would usually mean stubbed, stood on toes, but when you've got a solid pair of boots on your feet, life is a breeze. There's also the added 'indie/cool' factor of being seen in them. The only downfall is the break-in period. Blisters are the death of a festie-goer, make sure they're well worn in.

GET THE LOOK:

Doc Martens are stocked at Platypus stores in New Zealand

Floral halos everywhere

Flower Crowns

We thought flower crowns at music festivals might have had their hey day a year or two ago, but by what we've seen this summer, it seems they're still going strong. I mean, you can understand why people don them - they're just the complete representation of youth and freedom and femininity, those colourful flowers dancing above your head whilst swaying to the music, carefree and easy.

Practicality-wise, flower crowns serve very little purpose at a music festival, but we're talking about fashion trends here, baby, and that halo of flora and fauna is pretty. (And of course by association, you become pretty/prettier, right?) They're also easy and cheap to make, so almost every one is unique. Like an artwork along ones hairline. Or something.

GET THE LOOK:

This is more of a DIY effort see a good 'how to', but if you're lazy like us, we have been informed that you can purchase them at a stall at the Silo Markets on Friday nights , or there's a large variety of styles to purchase on Etsy.

The wide brimmed fedora

Hats

A hat isn't necessarily a fashion trend at an outdoor summer music festival - it's a necessity, especially in the burning, burning New Zealand sun. We spotted a lot of caps this year, as to be expected, but in a surprise turn of events there was a drop in quantity of straw fedoras and wide brimmed hats seen, only to be replaced with same style in wool.

On the one hand, a wool fedora/wide-brimmed hat seems like a good thing at a festival - it gives you the requisite face shade, a hat always seems to make you look 'finished', and it's easy to hide under. On the other hand, it's bloody wool in the middle of bloody summer. A lot of people would have been sweltering at this year's Laneway festival. But you know what they say - beauty is pain.

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Lack of color
Brixton, stocked at Good as Gold
Superette
ASOS
Boohoo

Sport lux

Nike

I'm not quite sure about this whole Sport Lux thing. I mean I love it, but I'm also skeptical because I feel like it's just a way to wear comfy sweats out of the gym and still be considered cool. Either way, it's a thing right now and we might as well embrace it. Sports classic Nike is pretty much leading the way at festivals as far as I can see. New Balance trainers are doing their thing, but Nike runners are obviously the most popular right now.

The benefits of wearing an 'athletic shoe' at a music festival are countless, but mostly involve the comfort level the wearer receives. When you think about it, a festival involves a lot of walking around, standing for long periods, and dancing. A shoe built for a marathon is the best thing you could choose to wear. Grab the tick of approval and run with it.

GET THE LOOK:

Nike stores
Rebel Sports
Area 51 stores
Loaded
Qubic

Everyone's favourite shades

Karen Walker

If there's a fashionable festival eyewear brand of choice, it's got to be Karen Walker (or Karen Walker knock offs) for the girls - and not just the ex-private schoolers. (I've seen a lot of Ray-Bans for the boys.) It's safe to say that the New Zealand designer is cleaning up in the sunglass department, with the trademark arrow logotype on the arms of most young females shades across both Laneway and Big Day Out. Karen Walker has really nailed it with the variety in her collections - from the tamer twists on classics (oversized black frames, extra pumped up tortoiseshell on a more 'standard' frame) to all out with coloured lenses, big and bold shapes and unexpected colours. There's something for everyone.

GET THE LOOK:
Buy them at Karen Walker stores or online

- Infographic created by Claudia Ruiz. www.nzherald.co.nz