The guide to Forwards festival outfits

In less than 24 hours, Forwards Festival will take over Bristol Downs- arguably one of the biggest music events of the year in our city. If you have somehow made it this far without planning your festival outfits, don’t panic. This guide will be your helping hand in coordinating an outfit around your favourite headliner, or creating a Frankenstein-esque outfit that stitches together the aesthetics of all your favourite artists. The best part is that you don’t need to venture beyond Bristol city centre to find all the clothes that you need. With Cabot Circus and Bristol’s multitude of charity shops, you have endless options at your fingertips for deciding what to wear for each day of the festival.

Friday

Lorde Presents: Forwards brings some huge names to Bristol, including Lorde, Djo and Maisie Peters. Choosing just one aesthetic here is a real challenge, as each artist has such a unique look, so why not pick from all three? Attached is an outfit that attempts to capture the elements of all the headliners and blend them into one slightly chaotic festival look.

You can find a similar top and statement jacket to this on Etsy, with the rave glasses being easily found on Amazon. For the rest of the ensemble, head into Cabot Circus shops like Urban Outfitters and Stradivarius. For the polka dot tights and scarf, head to the charity shops and find something colourful and simply fun!

Saturday

Saturday is headlined by Tems, Self Esteem and Wet Leg. These artists’ varying aesthetics give you a lot to work with, but they are going to absolutely serve and create an outfit that will be guaranteed to turn some heads. 

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Luckily, this look is easy to recreate, and you can find the sparkly tops, mini skirts, boots and jorts in Cabot Circus; Bershka would be a specifically good place to start. Whilst the jewellery can definitely be picked up during a quick pop into your local charity shop, make sure to hunt for some chunky pieces to really complete the look. The more jewellery, the better.

Sunday

Sunday is arguably the easiest day to curate a coordinated look incorporating all of the artists performing. Little Simz, Amyl and the Sniffers and Dijon are headlining, so the vibes of the day are a lot more chilled and focused on the Y2K aesthetic. 

If you are looking for an effortlessly cool cap, look no further than one of the many Gloucester Road charity shops, and the rest of the look (you guessed it) can be bought in Cabot Circus. If you’re super efficient, you can even buy pieces that you can mix and match for all days of the festival!

However, in true UK style, there is probably going to be one big obstacle to your carefully curated festival wardrobe. Unfortunately, it is forecast to rain over the entire weekend, and the reality is that your superbly styled outfit may end up covered with a poncho or raincoat, with some wellies on instead. But don’t let this get your spirits down; good vibes and music are not limited by bad weather- just your options for style choices.

Whether you’re planning on looking just like your favourite headliner, or feel like creating a similar ‘Frankenstein’ look for each day. I hope this guide has helped give some last-minute inspiration for your outfits.