Festival fashion is back. Is it still a brand opportunity?

“Festivals create such an amazing outlet for freedom of expression and style,” she explains. “We felt that… it was the best time to activate.” KPIs include traffic to Wrangler.com, new customers, sales of the capsule collection and social media engagement throughout the festivals.

Wrangler is one of many brands targeting festivals with renewed vigour. “Brands want to have visibility at fun, highly anticipated event moments like Coachella or Glastonbury,” says Lydia Steele, vice president of fashion at PR agency Purple. “This season we hosted a gifting suite at our showroom for some of our brands, including Lacoste. We had back-to-back appointments with editors and VIPS… The best part was seeing photos of talent enjoying themselves whilst wearing the brand.”

Luxury: Creating viral moments

For luxury brands, the focus is on creating viral moments. This year, they’ve included Harry Styles wearing Gucci at both his Coachella performances and Dua Lipa in The Attico at Denmark’s Roskilde. Luxury knitwear brand AGR has noted direct increases in sales from dressing artists at gigs and festivals, says founder Alicia Robinson. AGR’s Cherish cardigan, worn by the likes of Kid Cudi, Burna Boy and BIA, has sold out.

This year, AGR gifted clothes to creators attending festivals across the UK and US, including Coachella and Glastonbury. “Festival activations allow the clothes to be seen by a different kind of consumer; someone who may not shop on Farfetch or Net-a-Porter,” says Robinson. “It allows it to be seen in a natural, fun environment, rather than just on a catwalk or in a magazine where it may feel unobtainable. It’s also so fab to see the crazy festival styling that features AGR.” The two most important KPIs are social media engagement and website referrals, Robinson notes.

Festival gifting can be more cost-effective than usual influencer marketing, experts say. “If you put it in perspective, to post two [Instagram] stories for a brand, budget wise, [costs] a lot more than a festival ticket,” says UK-based influencer Leo Mandella (@GullyGuyLeo), who has over 700,000 Instagram followers and has worked with brands such as Fendi and Gucci. “Brands or the festivals themselves are getting a lot more because they’re not actually paying so much to the creator. Often all they need to give you is an access-all-areas pass. It’s a way better experience.”