Last weekend we headed to Oxford for an extraordinary weekend of music, arts and culture. We went to snap all the music and fashion lovers in their festival glory!
The fifth season of Wilderness Festival 2015 closed on Sunday, following a weekend of blue skies and summer sunshine, eclectic music, gourmet food, wild swimming, inspirational theatre, learning, literature, arts, culture and rejuvenation. For four days, the Wild Ones became ancient mariners and merfolk, resplendent in sequins, feathers, glittering with every step, vintage aviators and goggled steampunk panthers and sovereigns in their finest regalia, enjoying everything that Wilderness had to offer.
Enjoy our fash gallery below…..
The highlight of the festival was a breathtaking performance created by internationally renowned Spanish theatre collective La Fura dels Baus. On Saturday night, after George Clinton had closed the main stage, the crowd was left awestruck as a giant glowing puppet appeared, striding through a spellbound main stage crowd, a singer nestled in its chest and conducting the Human Net – 52 acrobats, suspended in the night sky from a 40m crane. It was an incredible defining moment for Wilderness, and something that has truly never been seen at festival before.
Wilderness enjoyed an effervescence of glorious lake swimming, captivating debates, talks and workshops, Michelin-starred banquets from Angela Hartnett, Niklas Ekstedt and Raymond Blanc, and immersive theatre and performance, plus the sumptuous Lakeside Spa and vibrant family areas.
The three headliners of Wilderness 2015, Bjork, George Clinton, Parliament & Funkadelic and Ben Howard provided special moments throughout the weekend. Friday headliner Bjork sparked an electrical excitement in the crowd as the Wild Ones awaited the lady of the hour, who appeared resplendent in a red Markus Wernitznig dress and mask by JT Merry. Her set opened in a flourish of dazzling fireworks for ‘Notget’, before continuing along a kaleidoscopic journey for the final celebration of her spectacular tour, a very special ‘Vulnicura’ festival finale, peppered with classic moments including ‘Hunter’, ‘Army of Me’ and ‘Hyperballad’ that culminated with the explosive ‘Mouth Mantra’, followed by ‘Mutual Core’, and closing with the epic ‘One Day’.
On Saturday, George Clinton, Parliament and Funkadelic, pioneer of p-funk, a man who’s inspired generations with his dedication to funk. The ensemble – headed up by the irrepressible main man – revolutionized R&B in the 70s, twisting soul into funk by splicing influences from late 60s heroes: Jimi Hendrix, Frank Zappa and Sly Stone.
On Sunday Wilderness Festival enjoyed another splendid sunshine day before the day’s headliner Ben Howard played a beautifully passionate set to close the festival. An emotionally charged show, his stripped-back, honest vocals had an enraptured crowd singing along in unison – a poignant end to a wonderful weekend.
Sunday at Wilderness Festival was every bit as beguiling as the preceding days, with sets from Perfume Genius, Shlomo, Seun Kuti and Francesca Lombardo, a Ronnie Scott’s takeover in the Grand Spiegel, No Such Thing As A Fish bringing their quirky live genius, Raymond Blanc hosting a banquet, Oxford Shakespeare Company’s Twelfth Night performed deep in the forest, philosophy slams, Radiohead reimagined by the Wilderness Orchestra and chanteuse Camille O’Sullivan and a huge range of ways to enrich mind, soul, body, stomach and your fellow Wild One.
Other highlights included a Firewalking workshop for the brave (and the sober), workshops in how to make love last, and how to stay calm, a performance from a Wilderness Choir comprised entirely of volunteers who’d been rehearsing all weekend performing Bohemian Rhapsody, the Wilderness Art Studio and an acrobatic masterpiece from Acrojou.
Perfectly considered, artfully curated, expertly executed and enjoyed by all who attended, Wilderness Festival 2015 hosted four memorable summer’s days in the stunning Oxfordshire countryside.
