In the era of Coachella and, more importantly, Instagram, crafting the perfect festival outfit has become a painstaking process that can often involve a whole team of individuals — stylists, designers and assistants. But one of the most universally adored festival looks of all time was created with absolutely no forethought, no styling and a piece of festival merch that was purchased the day before.
It was Glastonbury 2005. The White Stripes, Primal Scream and Basement Jaxx were set to headline and the floor was thick with mud after two months of rain poured down in just two hours. Then 31-year-old supermodel Kate Moss was in attendance, and she brought with her a handful of clothes, a pair of Hunter wellies and her boyfriend Pete Doherty to keep her company, as well as a few close friends.
“I’ve been with her most years at Glastonbury,” says Moss’ long-time best friend James Brown, who recently became her stylist. “Often people don’t realise you’re with [Kate] until they’ve walked past, it’s all such a rush, you’re trying to get through mud and there’s so much walking around, so you just see some sort of stylish, beautiful girl go past you.”
Stylish, indeed, but not styled, Brown insists. “It’s just completely organic,” he says, “[the outfits are] just put on, not thought about, not prepared. I know some people plan for weeks beforehand but Kate doesn’t, she just puts it together on the day.”
On the second day of the 2005 festival, Moss decided to pair a metallic, long-sleeved gold knit top with her black leather jacket, Hunter wellies and a belt she’d picked up the day before that said “Glastonbury Rocks” in studs. From the moment Moss was photographed wearing it, the look was lauded as an instant classic, and is still considered so to this day — just take a look Pinterest, or at any Glastonbury festival fashion article ever, or your own Instagram feed as soon as it hits June.
“It happened straight away,” Brown remembers, comparing the reaction to that which followed Moss’s yellow Calvin Klein moment at the 1995 Met Gala. “It became like an instant, iconic moment. It was like this sort of yellow dress moment. Literally iconic overnight, a picture that's always gonna be ingrained in everyone's memory.”
Brown attributes the look’s success to how unplanned and effortless it was, but it also had a historical It Girl advantage: the gold knit top was originally owned by 70s actress and Rolling Stones muse Anita Pallenberg, who passed it down to Moss after they became close. Moss and Brown have known Pallenberg since they were “about 17 or 18” due to their friendship with Pallenberg and Keith Richards’ son, Marlon Richards, and his wife Lucie de la Falaise. “She will always be our forever icon,” Brown says of Pallenberg.
Brown and Moss attended last year’s Glastonbury together, which he says was “magical”. But the jury is still out on Glastonbury 2023 due to a busy period with Moss’s beauty brand Cosmoss. “I really don’t know,” Brown hesitates, “we might pop in, but I don’t know.” So keep your fingers firmly crossed for a Kate cameo at this year’s festival, and let’s hope she’s feeling self-referential: it would be a crime to only wear that look once.
