Allow Pitchfork’s Best-Dressed Attendees to Explain How to Get Ready for a Music Festival
Despite thunderstorms in the forecast, these festivalgoers braved the rain in looks that were equal parts utilitarian and chic.
Pitchfork Music Festival, the Chicago-based event that has since sprouted offshoots in Paris and Brooklyn, has cultivated a reputation as the most laid-back fest on the summer circuit, and with good reason. At the 2018 edition, which featured headliners Tame Impala, Fleet Foxes, and, closing it out on Sunday night, Lauryn Hill performing for the 20th anniversary of her landmark album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, even the best-dressed festivalgoers blended form and function, combining harnesses and overcoats, boiler suits and overalls, fresh-off-the-plane looks, and plenty of loose layers allowing room for dancing. Here, some of the chicest Pitchfork Festival attendees explain how they got ready in the morning (while a few favorite musicians, like Lucy Dacus, Tierra Whack, and Julien Baker, played in the background).
Avery Smith, 23, employee at Audiotree
How did you decide what you were going to wear?
I’ve been obsessed with this brand Ganni for a while, and now that I’m full-time, I decided to splurge on a Ganni dress. It came in like a week ago. I’m probably going to wear this every single day just to get my money. It’s an investment. The shoes are Jeffrey Campbell; I don’t think they make the brown ones anymore, but they still have black and snakeskin. I used nail polish and wrote my name on the back because I saw this Gucci ad for boots that had their initials on them and I was like, That’s sick, I want to do that.
Who are you most excited to see?
Lauryn Hill—if she shows up on time and plays a decent set. We’ll see, though.
Osirus, 20, student, and Leondre, 20, student
How did you decide what you were going to wear?
OSIRUS: I got help from a friend, and I really wanted to do the harness because harnesses are so cute. My friend is also wearing a harness. It was a contrast thing. I just like a bright red color with a shoulder pad. I love shoulder pads. The earrings, I keep seeing these Etsy kind of wineglass earrings, so I thought it would be perfect with the red and the Pepsi.
LEONDRE: I don’t know, I’ve always wanted to dress for a music festival because I feel like it’s the perfect time to be, you know, cunt, naked! I was just like, I’m gonna go to a music festival and I’m gonna show as much body as possible!
Have you been to Pitchfork before?
OSIRUS: Nope!
LEONDRE: This is my very first music festival!
Who are you most excited to see?
OSIRUS: I’m probably most excited to see Lauryn Hill.
LEONDRE: Today I’m excited to see Syd, because I feel like she’s going to bring out the Internet, since their album just came out today.
Sara Wenokur, 28, florist
How did you put your look together?
I bought this a couple of months ago. This is Dusen Dusen. They’re from Brooklyn, I think? It’s just comfy breathable fabric. I thought it was going to be super hot. The bag, I don’t even know where I got it. It was like 12 bucks, and I think it’s a French brand, but I don’t know what it is. I love how easy they are!
Who are you most excited to see?
Lauryn Hill, just because I grew up with her. Let’s hope…we’ll see!
Max Goldstein, 23, cashier and musician, and Shaheem Anderson, 21, retail manager and model
MAX: I used to be in a band, Yoko and the Oh No’s, for like seven years. We played our last show in January; now I’m working on my first single. It’s written, I’m just producing it and making sure it’s perfect.
SHAHEEM: If you’re going to be an artist, the best advice I got from my drama teacher is move to the city, be close to museums, be close to the people. That’s what you get inspired by.
MAX: To be honest, I don’t think my band could have done what we did if we were in a different city, because it’s really easy, if you’re doing something different, to get your feet planted, figure out what you’re doing. Once you do that, it’s really easy to find people who see what you’re doing and are willing to support you, and it’s a really good community here, and there are so many different communities here that are very separate, and sometimes I wish that they would come together more.
Is there anyone you’re especially excited to see this weekend?
MAX: There’re a couple of people on Friday and Saturday, but most of the people I’m super excited to see are on Sunday. I’m really excited for Lauryn Hill, Chaka Khan, Noname—I saw her do spoken word years and years and years ago, but I haven’t seen her since the album’s been out, basically.
SHAHEEM: Exact same. Chaka Khan. I don’t know. I haven’t been to Pitchfork before, so I’m kind of just keeping an open mind. Our anniversary is sometime around this time—
MAX: Today or tomorrow.
SHAHEEM: So it’s a little milestone to celebrate. Low-key, the rain is adding to the vibe.
Did you decide what you were wearing together?
SHAHEEM: Yes.
MAX: We didn’t want to be worried about it.
SHAHEEM: These pieces were sent to me by this designer in Europe, House of Holland, and they let me pick two pieces and there were two of us, so it was like, it matches, it works, there’s a look, and then we just kind of added our own personal flair and our own personal bling to it. Getting ready is the best part of the day.
Do your looks tend to go together?
SHAHEEM: It’s so weird, since the day we met, low-key accidentally, and I’m so sorry to interrupt, but they have. Not all the time, but sometimes, it’s more of a correlation. I love that because it’s like our brains are connected in some way. Even though we have very different styles, they run very well together.
Troi, 23, visual artist, painter, and sculptor, and Westley Parker, 28, artists’ manager
Who are you most excited to see this year?
TROI: Honestly? Tame Impala and Chaka Khan.
WESTLEY: I wanna see Tame Impala and Moses Sumney! I’m a real big fan of Moses Sumney; there’re a lot of people on this list I wanna see.
Where are you from?
TROI: Oak Park, Illinois.
WESTLEY: Right now? I’m coming from the crib. I’m from the South Side of Chicago.
What inspired this look today?
TROI: Well, I knew I was gonna be wearing this yellow raincoat. So I was like, I might as well go all yellow, you know? I threw my favorite platforms on, and I wanted a little underboob.
WESTLEY: It was gonna rain, so these pants were my best bet. The shirt is one of the artists I manage, Rick Wilson. This is one of our projects. One of my best friends gave me this bandanna years ago, her name is Laura. These are Troi’s pants. I steal her clothes a lot! I steal her clothes so much. These are some boots I bought myself for Christmas.
Lillie West, aka Lala Lala, 24, musician
Who are you most excited about seeing?
I’m most excited about Nnamdi Ogbonnaya. And Girlpool—my favorite band.
How’d you put your look together?
These are my roommate’s coveralls, and you know, it was raining. When you don’t know what to wear, just ask your roommate.
Harmony Tividad, 22, musician, and Cleo Tucker, 21, musician, aka Girlpool
Who are you most excited about seeing?
CLEO: I really wanna see Moses [Sumney]. I can’t wait, I have never seen him.
HARMONY: We’re not here the day Noname is playing, but I want to see Noname really bad.
How’d you decide what to wear to the festival?
CLEO: I got up to go on the airplane this morning, and I just wore exactly what I wore. It was like four in the morning, so I was like, I’m putting on my pants.
HARMONY: This is an outfit I wear, it’s like one of those go-tos. You’re like, Oh, I know I can wear that. Just today I was sorting through my suitcase and I was in a hurry to get here because I was running late for this thing I had to do. And I was like, I’m in airplane clothes and they smell weird, I need to change. So I kind of just went with this because I know I don’t have to look in the mirror too long because I know how it looks, I’m very accustomed to it.
Rhianna Haduch, 20, journalist, designer
How did you pick what you’re going to wear today?
I hand-printed the tank top that I’m wearing at MCAD in Minneapolis. It’s this university. Then, I just thrifted this jacket at Buffalo Exchange. I’m going to print on this one, too. We own a clothing brand and it’s all sustainable, gender-neutral, and sizeless, and the money goes back toward important issues in the world. The first collection we just dropped, like a month ago, is called Headlines, and we used headlines from the past two years, so, like, Puerto Rico being out of water or social injustices, big headlines, and then we gave money directly back toward those issues, and on the website, there’s like a paragraph of background information for each item in that collection, why it’s important, and then a paragraph about where the money’s going, so it’s kind of like journalism and fashion.
What brings you here this weekend?
Just for Tame Impala, and I’m from Chicago, so it was an easy trip. I applied for my visa for Spain this morning, because I’m moving to Madrid, and then, I’m here for the night.
Carmelo Cianflone, aka Melo Makes Music, 23, musician
How did you pick what you’re going to wear today?
I like to wear my emotions on my exterior. It’s pretty gray outside; I was just feeling all black. I was just feeling this vibe today. I got these sunglasses off of a local vendor. Her name is Paris Heelton. She goes crazy; she finds all these frames and she’s matching them with lenses. She’s doing her thing. These are from her shop. They’re pretty tight.
What are you here to see?
Lauryn Hill. I just saw my buddy Saba, that was amazing. I don’t know if you guys got to see that show but it was very rock. I want to see Tame Impala tonight, of course. I missed Tierra Whack. I really wanted to see her.
