NELLY ROCK : FESTIVAL CULTURE

BOOMTOWN.BESTIVAL.CAMP BESTIVAL.HYDE PARK.LATITUDE.ISLE OF WIGHT.CORNBURY. are some of the festivals i've been too, to name a few.

I'm a little obsessed. I love the freedom and the lack of inhibition.

From a design perspective there are endless inspirations, maybe not from the 'festival chic' look which I personally hate, you know the one I mean....... However there is something I find liberating about seeing streams of people wearing clashing prints, colour and being experimental.Something about the culture enables people to express themselves fearlessly and naturally; something which i believe fashion enables one to do in daily life. A buzzing and dancing community of people;tribal instinct is bound to kick in and face markings can be seen as each person wants to become part of this culture. For these few days it's okay to cover your face in paint, glitter and garish colour; It's okay to dress head to toe in the most colourful attire you can find, even put colours in your hair or for the fainter hearted parade in a wig.
It ceases to amaze me how half the number will, after the 4 days put it all back at the back of a wardrobe or keep it to strictly to photographic evidence until another year.
Why is this? Why only this environment? ... The street, the shops, the park, work, anywhere else and you're on your own. Entering a tube carriage in your new attire and the likelihood is you'll be met with crisp suits and white blouses; thus it becomes safety in numbers. At a festival nobody cares, outside of one it's back to reality.

Which leads me onto why i love fashion. It enables this careless fix all year round. Experiments are fun. Life is more exciting when you mix it up. As festivals make clear, everyone loves to dress up, however only some dare to do it all year round. If the others realized how beautiful they look when fearless maybe they would too, here are some of my favourite snaps of my tribe and I, who love to do it all year round.