H&M Festival Style: Osheaga 2017

We LOOOOOVE Montréal! The energy, the people, the language, the whole attitude and vibe of this city instils a feeling of being transported to another place. Paris, of course, comes to mind, but Paris feels older, more grown up, just different. So when we were invited to join the H&M team at Osheaga this summer we jumped right in. Not only did this mean pictures in ones of Canada’s most photogenic cities but also catching the amazing lineup at the festival, which, by the way, is known, for having THE BEST performers. I don’t actually know how that came to be? The space feels smaller than any of the other festivals we’ve been to, it’s isolated on an island and it’s known to have quite the bottle necks when you try getting out at the end of the night, YET it’s number 7 on Forbes’ list of the highest grossing festivals in the WORLD! Seeing a Canadian city amongst some of these incredible places feels really good!

H&M always hosts the most fun events, Coachella being one of them of course, is always an incredible time. Osheaga felt so much closer to home, however, because it was the Canadian team who put it all together, and we might be a little biased but those guys are the best! Knowing how much thought and work goes into creating these experiences really makes us appreciate them even more when we finally see them come to life. This year it was all about H&M’s conscious sustainability efforts. Many people are still very surprised when they hear about H&M’s clothes recycling program (!), and yes they have one and if it doesn’t already, it will make you feel great about getting dressed. The program launched in 2013 with the idea that fashion is much too precious to end up in a landfill. You can drop off all your unwanted clothes, regardless of brand or condition at your local H&M to be recycled, repurposed and re-worn (in that order) AND you will get H&M vouchers for your good deed, everybody wins! As much as 95% of clothes thrown away could have been re-worn or recycled, so the question is, what are you doing about it?

If you are as big of a shopper as I am, you are familiar with the H&M conscious collection. If you’re not, make sure you look for the green hang tag on the pieces you pick at the store or a conscious label inside your clothes. This collection is a direct outcome of all your recycling efforts, made from more sustainable materials, with thought for the environment and the people working across the production chain.

It is easy to pin H&M against the wall with all the other fast fashion brands without knowing all the facts, but thanks to their expensive due diligence and efforts to create a more sustainable future for all we could be looking at all the cotton in the H&M range coming from sustainable sources by 2020! Every step of this journey is also fully transparent and you can find all the updates in their annual sustainability report to learn more!

There are also several ways in which YOU can contribute to a more sustainable fashion future; treat your fashion pieces in a sustainable way, care for your clothes and when the time comes and you no longer want or need them – always make sure to recycle. Visit the H&M sustainability webpage to learn all about this amazing program!

But back to Osheaga for a moment. Because truly what an adventure that was. I literally spent the last three weeks planning my looks, had everything laid out and ready to go but the weather had other plans. Thankful for the rain boots I just wore at Way Home I adjusted the plan slightly and went for it, Justice was playing the first night and I barely made it through the opening set before I was chased away by drops of rain that turned into a torrential downpour. We watched Lorde sing under an umbrella and then rebelliously toss it into the crowd. We all followed suit, albeit in our ponchos, and danced into the weekend.

We were joined by the Caili Beckerman (@beckermanblog),  Didier Young (@didieryhc), another favourite photog Steven Lee (@silhouettedskyline) and had a blast in the H&M Skybar overlooking one of the two main stages. There is always something to be said about a roof over your head when the sky is falling down on you, not to mention a live stream of every show for all the detailed moments we would have otherwise missed, and of course, really really fun company!

Hands down my favourite moment of the entire festival was Liam Gallagher singing Wonderwall to a crowd that knew all the lyrics. Let’s face it though, even kids who were born into the 2000’s know this song, and probably cherish it for their own reasons. It felt a little like a forced moment and maybe it was in his contract to sing it (it totally was!) but I would have never thought I’d ever hear this live so I’ll take what I can get.

Another favourite was, surprisingly, Die Antwoord. Seeing them perform for sure makes you question your sanity a little bit but in a way it also took me back to Euro dance music of the 90’s. Apart from some vulgar imagery, it was a great show!

The art at the festival was really great, so many fun, interactive pieces (read, shooting spots), a dance floor floating on water, and artist’s world buffet, like cheeseburgers that melted in your mouth, soft serve ice cream and waiting for Tyler’s cappuccino while eaves dropping on cage the elephant at the table next to where you’re standing!

So yea! It was an outstanding weekend. We took so many photos that I couldn’t share them all here. I made a facebook album where you can spot all our fave shows, take a closer look at the H&M tent and did I mention the Weekend closed the festival on Sunday night? Because we’re in Canada and it was the patriotic thing to do. There are few things in life as satisfying as dancing to ‘I feel it coming’ to fireworks going off behind the stage… at least for now! xoxo

*All looks worn in this post are H&M <3