Your Laneway Festival Sartorial Survival Guide
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Music festivals are a melting pot for fashion trends and, when it comes to fashion, something of a competitive sport. There’s just something about styling for the elements— whether dustbowl summer events or mud-soaked mosh pits—that sparks a style set’s inventive streak.
These challenges have gifted us iconic fashion moments: Kate Moss in Hunter boots at Glastonbury, Dua Lipa pairing a bikini top with tracksuit pants, Alexa Chung doing anything in the 2010s and Coachella’s signature fringe and crochet looks have arguably shaped our fashion and festival DNA.
Closer to home, Australian festivals like Lost Paradise and Beyond the Valley have served up bloomers, bikini tops, and low-slung jorts aplenty.
Now, with Laneway Festival fast approaching—headlined by massive names like Charli XCX—we’re figuring out what to wear to what feels like one of the biggest festivals of the year. Keeping in mind that bikini tops might not cut it for sun safety (or for Apple Dance-ing with abandon if you’re well-endowed) and bloomers aren’t for everyone, we’ve curated a list that will work for you whether you plan on living your best jort-ed life or are embracing moto boho.
Even the best-laid sartorial plans can be thwarted by the weather, and February is famously unpredictable. Taking place from February 6–16 across Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane, and Auckland, Laneway Festival-goers should brace for above-average temperatures and rainfall, according to our friends at the Bureau of Meteorology. So, it actually might be time for your Kate Moss 2005 Glastonbury shorts and Hunter rainboots moment.
Here are our top picks. BYO wet weather gear.
A wardrobe and festival fashion no-brainer, this baby tee from Uniqlo is an ELLE-editor favourite.
You don’t have to cave tothe tyranny of the jort trend but if you have a yen for the style we recommend you do so in Hailey Bieber-approved denim brand Dickies.
If you’re into the festival triangle bikini top as a concept but worried about support, we recommend going for a slightly padded option. This affordable option from Glassons is surprisingly sea-worthy.
Perfect for layering over said triangle bikini top if you’re after some extra coverage? A sheer, colourful crewneck. This 100 per cent silk option from Wynn Hamlyn is a wear-forever piece that will elevate any outfit.
Given Ms Charli XCX is performing we’d be remiss if we didn’t come with recommendations for a sleazy-white tank. This slightly cropped option from Venroy works with everything from jorts to a midi-skirt and the 77% cotton blend fabric is breathable with just the right amount of stretch.
This dress is for when you want to serve “main character” in a sea of jorts. Semi-sheer this midi offers coverage, comfort and eye-catching sex appeal in one gauzy package. Style with boots and a relaxed, generously proportioned bag.
The boots in question. We’re enamoured with the moto-boho trend here at ELLE and we’re all about leather accessories with rough, embellished edges. These boots from Paris Texas will rough up even the most prim cottage-core dress and are also available in brown leather and black suede. If you’re looking for similar vibes at a slightly more wallet-friendly price point we’re also taken with the Toni Bianco Biker Boot ($399.99).
Laneway Festival is not backing the large designer bag trend and carriers larger than an A4 piece of paper will be confiscated. Fortunately, there are many chic, sleek options to choose from, including the very cute Ganni Bou. Anything not cross-body is, of course, a recipe for festival disaster, and this mini bucket bag will keep your sunnies, phone and random assortment of lip products and hair ties safe.
French-girl-goes-to-Glastonbury style doesn’t get easier than this lightweight midi from Sézane. Perfect styled with a biker boot.
Festivals are long, hot and full of UV, and we recommend bringing your preferred SPF50+ sunscreen and reapplying it throughout the day. It is even better if you can ensure you’re not diluting it when you touch up, which is why you should look for SPF in your makeup too. This satin finish tinted moisturiser from viral brand Tower28 features mineral SPF30 protection and a host of calming, hydrating ingredients. Most importantly, it will give you a glowy, not greasy base for the day and slot neatly into your handbag. Très convenient, five stars.
What goes for your base should also go for your lips – protect them with an SPF-packed balm. This one just also happens to also be minty, glossy, hydrating and available in a delightful range of wearable shades.
A lightweight cotton shirt of any variety is a layering godsend for festivals. Also available in white and blue and white stripe we love this butter yellow number from Aere.
Arriving at a festival and realising you have to ditch half your stuff is an experience full of unique pain, loss and embarrassment. We recommend reading the full list of no nos on the festival’s official site where you will find weapons, air horns and couches listed on the exclusions. For a topline, we’ve collated the Sparknotes version for you here.
What You Can’t Bring To Laneway Festival:
What You Can Bring To Laneway Festival:
- Prescription medication: ensure it is in its packaging and that the name on the script matches your ID
Ruby Feneley Senior Writer, Fashion + Beauty
After completing a Bachelor of Arts at The University of Sydney (English Literature/Gender and Culture Studies), Ruby started her Australian media career as a media and marketing reporter for Mumbrella after a brief stint working in fashion marketing in New York. An ex-makeup artist, she quickly transitioned to beauty journalism and has held multiple in-house positions as a Beauty Editor. Ruby’s writing can be found across print and digital titles, including Dazed, GRAZIA, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, The Australian Financial Review, Body+Soul, Refinery29, POPSUGAR, marie claire and ELLE. Now, she loves covering internet subcultures, TikTok trends, sex and relationships and fashion as much as she loves scouring shopping aisles for the best non-sticky lip gloss and tracking down the perfect pencil for a faux freckle.
