EDITH BOWMAN ON FESTIVAL FASHION
The festival stalwart and DJ shares her top style tips if you’re heading to a summer musical spectacular
CONVERSE WITH ANYTHING
WHEN it comes to her summer aesthetic, Edith Bowman has one staple: “Converse with anything!” she exclaims. She even recommends mixing up your style by wearing a brightly coloured suit. “I love a good suit,” Edith sighs. “Particularly with a pair of Converse.”
PACK LAYERS
THE toughest thing about festival fashion is trying to predict what the weather will be like, and it even trips up pros like Edith.
“The hot weather threw me because we don’t normally have that constant heat for festivals,” she explains. “I already planned my festival wardrobe which involved a lot of jumpers. But this year I’ve been really thrown – during Isle of Wight Festival I was sweating because I hadn’t planned for that weather.”
This is why layers are a solid bet – you can strip down if the sun starts shining, but also make sure you’re covered up when night falls and it gets a bit chillier.
“It’s about being prepared for any eventuality,” Edith says. “When you’re doing coverage of the event you’re on until about midnight, so by that point it’s definitely got cooler so you’ll need a nice big denim jacket.”
PREPARATION IS KEY
DESPITE her experience, Edith still has the occasional disaster. “Before going up to TRNSMT in Scotland I had a late night watching The Cure in Hyde Park, and I completely forgot about packing,” she says with a groan. “I threw some things in a bag before leaving early the next morning, and when I got to the airport I realised I didn’t have anything to wear on the telly.” Luckily, her sartorial nightmare was shortlived – thanks to a chance sale at the airport’s Harrods shop. “Normally the beepers go off when you walk in because they know you can’t afford anything in there, but the sale was on and I found this Max Mara dress for £120 and it was perfect,” she says.
WHERE SHE SHOPS
“I’M a high street girl, I’ll do that thing of going nuts on the Zara app and taking half of it back,” she says. “I love Topshop and Marks & Spencer as well, they do some great stuff.”
One of her favourite recent purchases is a bomber jacket she wore during the TRNSMT festival. “It’s from a designer called Mairi Mcdonald who’s done this great thing of putting song lyrics on the back of jackets. I wore the ‘Love will tear us apart’ one from Joy Division – it’s a really nice touch, and it’s nice to support an up-and-coming designer.
“I always love finding places for one-off pieces.”
USING FASHION TO CELEBRATE INDIVIDUALITY
“YOU change as a person, so the choices you make in clothing 10 years ago are going to be very different to your choices now,” she explains. “I’m not the type of person that looks back, and especially not to be hard on myself. What about just celebrating our individuality, and the strength and beauty that can be seen in everyone?”
■ Edith Bowman chairs Bumble Presents... The Female Film Force panel, an initiative offering grants to aspiring female film-makers in the UK and Ireland.