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The festival season gets into full swing and the flurry for tickets begins, so approaches the question of what to wear. A flick through magazines will inevitably reveal the endless make-up tips, denim shorts and on-trend crop tops that are supposed to see you through your selected festival in style. Streams of modern celebrity icons grace the glossy pages: Kate Moss, Sienna Miller, the Olsen twins, all lauded for encapsulating ‘festival chic’.

 

But what is ‘festival chic’ anyway? To trace the look back to its origins in popular British culture, the designer Thea Porter deserves a special mention.  Raised in Palestine and Syria, she brought the luxurious patterns and textiles of the Middle East to the London of the 1970s, redressing an era of financial difficulties with floaty opulent fabrics. Photographs from the era show soft draperies of material hanging off the frames of her models in rich, shimmery colours. The item of clothing for which she is most famed is the kaftan. Worn throughout the Middle East for millennia, from ancient Mesopotamia to the sultans of the Ottoman Empire, Porter brought this now-classic staple of summer fashion to the British high street. The godmother of the boho chic emulated by Moss et al, she pioneered the look now avidly taken up by festival-goers every year.  

 

Another timeless icon who helped to cement a bohemian foothold in British fashion is Jane Birkin. With a style characterised by button-down blouses, casual T-shirts with rolled sleeves, sheer floaty dresses and delicate crochet crop tops, her summery 60s style would not go amiss at any festival.

 

For those who wish to steer themselves a little from the classic ensemble, keeping an eagle-eye out in the market or the charity shop can yield a bounty of unique finds. Digging through heaps of clothes in East London vintage markets can land you with a few distinctive statement pieces, around which many different outfits can be adapted. But even if East London is a little far to travel and the vintage markets are scarce, the same treasure hunter antics can be applied to the charity shop around the corner. And the fun of it lies in the unpredictability of what you might find.