‘I pretended to vomit’: Love Island’s Indiyah Pollock on how to survive festival season

She spoke to The Tab about all day raving and how Dami gave her the ick

9 months ago | UPDATED 9 months ago

Love Island 2023
UK

From the moment she stepped in the Love Island villa, Indiyah’s style wasn’t the same as other Love Island contestant’s. “I love wearing things that most people would be too scared to wear,” she says. “I think it’s fun.” And – like half the population this August bank holiday- Indiyah is experimenting with “crazy” fits for festival season— no Uniqlo cross-body bags here.

So, in an attempt to stop us all dissolving into a sweaty, muddy mess after another weekend of all-day raving, we caught up with the Love Island contestant to try and find out how exactly to survive a festival with the glam and grace of a reality star.

Credit: PrettyLittleThing

Indiyah’s first tip for a day long festival session is to take a fan. “It gets so hot and you need to touch up,” she says. “Take a mini hairbrush, mini powder puff, mini blusher, setting spray – just keep them all on you. Plus, probably some snacks like a chocolate bar throughout the day or I can’t survive,” she adds. This is a whole bum-bag survival kit.

But the most interesting piece of advice Indiyah offers is how to get out of a crowd to pee and still see your favourite act: “I was at Wireless and Drake was performing,” she says. “I got really close to the front and I thought ‘Christ’ I need to pee – I didn’t know what to do.

“Then I saw people running through the crowd being sick and I thought ‘I’m going to pretend to vomit’. So, everyone moved and I made it out of there. There was a sea of people behind me and I saw others being carried out and I thought ‘oh that’s the trick. You get out of my way’.”

Credit: PrettyLittleThing

A seasoned festival goer (her favourites are We Are FSTVL, Wireless and Notting Hill Carnival) it makes sense Indiyah’s first range with PrettyLittleThing is festival fashion inspired. But while festivals in the UK are continually moving towards an eco-conscious focus, Indiyah (PrettyLittleThing’s former resale Marketplace Ambassador) refuses to comment on sustainability.

“Indiyah has now moved from her Marketplace role into a brand ambassador role where she will be designing two collections,” a PrettyLittleThing spokesperson clarified. “She will still continue to support PLT Marketplace but no longer be the ‘face’ of Marketplace campaigns. The collection was considered to include timeless festival pieces (ie the denim selections) which will encourage customers to rewear in the future in different ways.” Hmm.

Credit: PrettyLittleThing

Interestingly, when Indiyah reveals her biggest fashion ick— its denim and has been worn by her boyfriend Dami, who she met on Love Island during summer last year. “Style is how you express yourself but he was wearing a jean vest top,” she says. “I really wanted him to take it off but it’s not my business… He said ‘oh don’t you like it?’ and I was like ‘No… but whatever.”

Because fundamentally, Indiyah’s biggest fashion and life tip is to do what you want and have fun at the same time – regardless of judgement. “You are you and you’re never going to be anybody else,” she says. “You have one body, one life. You need to own it and enjoy it.

“Sometimes, we nitpick at things about ourselves and other people don’t even realise,” she adds. “I’m always talking about my [tummy] rolls but I’m sure nobody else cares. You have to love your skin and it’s easier said than done but everybody is made individually and we spend so much time looking in the mirror we don’t realise how beautiful other people think we are.

“Just enjoy your time and enjoy yourself because you’re never going to be anybody else.”

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Indiyah’s PrettyLittleThing collection is online now.