By James Marceau
Several big name artists performed at Randall’s Island in New York, but the beat-the-heat street styles were the main attractions during the midsummer’s second annual Panorama Music Festival.
The festival attendees arrived showing off their diverse sides, both in the makeup and style departments. Among edgy and bohemian styles were protest tops promoting personal political views.
Frank Ocean, the Friday night headliner, took to the stage wearing a white t-shirt that read “WHY BE RACIST, SEXIST, HOMOPHOBIC, OR TRANSPHOBIC WHEN YOU COULD JUST BE QUIET?”
These shirts, however, are not only common for the streets of New York. Kirsten McLaren, 16, of Lexington, Mass., said, “People at my school wear pro- and anti-Trump t-shirts almost every day. It causes a lot of dissent.”
Brigid Hosmer, 15, of New Hampshire, said that at her private school, these tops would “be on the do-not-fly list.”
Brad Keeler and his wife Kerry, in typical festival garb
Other fashion forward fans arrived ready to model trendy Instagram and Snapchat worthy ensembles fit for the bohemian-chic crowd. They stayed cool by wearing hats, flowy t-shirts, cutoff jeans, and of course—sunglasses.
These styles, some of which are usual summer looks for New Yorkers, would not be as likely to be found on the streets of New Hampshire, according to Hosmer. “Kids in my town normally wear chino shorts with a Vineyard Vines top. It’s nothing like it is here [in New York].”
The festival was fully prepared for the sartorially gifted fans who needed a cool down. Near the Main Stage, there was an air-conditioned Sephora tent where Milk Makeup provided guests with highlight and shimmer.
Milk Makeup was also present at the American Express two-story lounge, which provided cardholders with Instagram opportunities, from a subway background to a swing set.
Some concert-goers chose to escape the crippling heat by doing face masks in the Sephora tent, over the sweaty crowd and ready to unwind.
“I spent two whole hours in that tent,” said Hampton Keith, 19, of Brooklyn. “My whole face would have sweat right off if I didn’t get out of that sun.”
The festival permitted guests to bring empty bottles into the venue and had stations where they could refill their waters. Guests flocked to this option, as the lines for food and drink opportunities were outrageously long.
Sisters Linda and Brianna Lewis strike a pose in front of the main stage. All photos by James Marceau.
Panorama Preparations
Concert-goers spend a long time waiting every year for ticketed music festivals and maybe even longer figuring out what outfits to wear.
According to an informal survey done by NYU Journalism students, 80% of attendees at Panorama music festival said that their outfit was not something that they would wear in their day to day life.
“I would never wear this anywhere but to a festival,” said Dani Worthalter, who was wearing a netted black top with black denim shorts and fishnets. “My mother would kill me.”
Despite this fact, Worthalter said it took her more than two weeks to assemble her completed look, and that she spent just over an hour getting ready.
Worthalter was just one of the 60% of people who said they spent more than an hour preparing for the event.
According to the survey, 40% of people said they paid $40 or more for the clothing they were going to wear to the festival.
Statistics of different places where attendees obtained their festival clothing.
“I know I’m probably only going to wear the outfit just this once,” said Caroline Pesch, 19, of Midtown. “But to me, it’s less about the money and more about self-expression.”
Pesch, who runs a beauty channel on YouTube, said she focused less on clothing and more on makeup. It is standard for concert-goers to have extravagant makeup looks for events such as these. Pesch and Worthalter, who attended the festival together, were both wearing a Sephora bright blue liquid lip liner.
“I think it’s normal for people in makeup to spend anywhere from 30 to 45 minutes beating their face for an event like this,” Pesch said. According to the survey, which includes both men and women, 70% of attendees wore makeup.
Demographics of attendees interviewed.
Kendall Jenner Celebrity Style
Kendall Jenner took to the streets looking ready for Randall Island’s Panorama music festival.
She was seen there wearing a corresponding red, white and blue striped top and shorts from Private Policy Spring 2017 men’s collection. The model completed the look with plain white sneakers.
The Combo Stripe Turtleneck Top, which has white belt/luggage straps that hang from the sleeves, retails by itself for $1,396.
The ensemble, however, was not hand picked by the reality starlet and it did not come from her closet.
Maya Minocha, an intern at Purple PR that provided the top for Jenner, said that for celebrities the outfit selection process is easy.
“The celebrity lets somebody know what they want, their agent gives us that information, and then we provide them with a look based on how positively we think people would react to it,” Minocha said.
“The look is free for the star wearing it because they’re modeling a brand. At the end of the day, they are the fashion influencers. They are the ones that make people want to buy the products,” Minocha said.
Jenner attended the festival with her almost-brother-in-law Scott Disick, who kept it casual for the event. He was seen in the crowd wearing a white Captain’s Sanitation Services t-shirt and light wash blue jeans.
The Kardashian’s hairdresser Jen Atkin’s brand OUAI was present at the festival also, doing hair for attendees and giving out braids and space buns.
James Marceau is a rising senior at Bishop Brady High School in Concord, N.H.