Rain or shine: What are the fashion items you should pack for Glastonbury 2023 after Hunter Boots collapse?

Confession time. I do have Hunter wellies, purple ones, but they are over 10 years old, and haven’t worn them for a long time. Despite owning Hunters myself, I was still a little surprised when the news broke that Hunter Boots were entering into administration this week.

Hunters used to be synonymous with Glastonbury, and of course Kate Moss. Let’s be honest, who didn’t want to be Kate Moss as she paired shorter than shorts with her Hunter boots? I am in no doubt the likes of Kate Moss, Sienna Miller and Alexa Chung encouraged many Glastonbury goers that the festival wouldn’t be complete without a pair of them.

According to Drapers, “At the start of this month, Hunter’s intellectual property (IP) was bought by Authentic Brands Group, owner of Ted Baker. Days later, on 5 June, restructuring firm AlixPartners was appointed as administrator.”

The article goes on to say that “In the administrator’s proposal report published (14 June) AlexPartners managing director Clare Kennedy revealed that the total amount of Hunter’s debts exceeded 100m.”

The Times revealed that “AlixPartners, the administrator, said that Hunter had been struggling since late 2019 due to a combination of reduced demand, the pandemic, supply chain disruption and inflationary pressures.”

When it comes to reduced demand, just as fashions come and go, so it would seem that Hunters have fallen victim to being yesterday’s trend. So if you are going to Glastonbury, and want to look fashionable, but practical, what should you be wearing?

If you like the idea of still wearing wellies but are looking for affordable ones, Dune London has the ‘Tellie’ boots in green which have been reduced from £70 to £28. Western/cowboy boots seem to be fashionable (once again!) for festivals and there are some great ones available on ASOS. My favourites are the ‘Daisy Street’ cowboy boots in black daisy that are priced at £58.

If the weather does shine at Glastonbury, denim of any description is always a must. I particularly love New Look’s Blue Denim waistcoat,priced at £27.99 and of course no festival would be complete without some denim shorts, such as New Look’s ‘Bright Blue Cotton High Waist Frayed Denim Shorts’ for £23.99.

H & M also have some suitably stylish ‘festival style’ fashion items that are practical as well, these include their ‘Water-repellent popover jacket,’ that comes in a variety of different colours and is priced at £49.99. 

If you like the idea of a skirt, I adore this ‘Black Extreme Tiered Frill Maxi’ skirt by Pretty Little Thing, priced at £28. Another cute look is their ‘Light Blue Elasticated Hem Ruffle’ top for £22.