Gear List #1: Dressing for a Winter Festival

David, the NTT (Ninja Techno Techwear)

Some go on a feast with their hands in their pockets.

It's not my case. I like to be prepared for all eventualities. I share Benoît's opinion that clothing should help us take full advantage of the present moment.

So I thought carefully about all the elements of my outfit. Very quickly, I chose a navy blue base:

• a Newtim t-shirt in merino wool,
• Vintage British Army cargo pants.

This outfit is exactly what I needed: a monochrome that I like at the moment and dark, therefore not very dirty clothes which allow me to sneak like a ninja through the crowd to the front of the stage to take my dose of devastating kicks.

The merino t-shirt seems obvious to me : insulating, breathable and anti-odor, it copes perfectly with temperature changes. This little tee is actually becoming my official (techno) party t-shirt.

These cargo pants are also my official sidekick for wild nights: high and wide waisted, they are comfortable and very practical with their very deep side pockets. It also has a drawstring which saves me from having to wear a belt.

On my t-shirt, I just had my Aim Experience Parka which I tested here . Short, waterproof and warm, it really saved me because I had to walk outside between each scene. And the weather was not on our side: it was quite cold and it rained for a good part of the night. With the t-shirt + the parka, I was perfect, I didn't need anything less.

The parka would just have to be not navy blue to complete this monochrome outfit, but I didn't have any other outerwear in this color that would have suited it.

I saw a lot of festival-goers with just a t-shirt: they must have ended up quite soaked, and quite sick too. I wore the parka whenever I had to go out and tied it at the waist whenever it came to celebrating indoors. Locker room skillfully dodged.

And because I'm cold, I had a thin wool scarf . In wool to keep you as warm as possible, and thin to fit into my fanny pack. Because yes, it fit into our Idanha banana that I brought for the occasion. The perfect opportunity to test it in real conditions.

In addition to the magnetic buckle which is definitely very satisfying to use, I appreciated the size of the banana , larger than I thought. The main pocket is large enough to fit a small bottle of water (which was allowed at this festival) and my scarf. The exterior pocket allowed me to store a small bottle of hydroalcoholic gel and a Horace cleaning wipe. And I still had room!

In terms of my other party accessories , I brought:

• A two-sided Atamé (tan) card holder, navy blue and camel, in which I had just a few cards and tickets which allowed me to stay hydrated and nourished throughout the evening (and the weekend)
• A Samsung external battery for my phone whose autonomy is quite limited
• Adapted Alpine earplugs that reduce music at festivals and concerts. It's good to think about your hearing too, the music at festivals can be quite loud (in this case, it was fine).
• An Arket leather strap keychain that attaches to my belt loop and ends in my pocket. The guarantee for me of never losing my keys. I never take off this accessory which brings me a lot of peace of mind.

Finally, let's talk about shoes . I hesitated between good old German Army Trainers which have seen a lot of experience or Nike Flyknit which I wear for sport. I chose the Flyknit , very comfortable and which allowed me to rush harder into the pogos that Michel triggered during Vladimir Cauchemar's set. They are made of mesh, so a fairly airy weave and yet I didn't have wet feet (or I don't remember).

Make way for some little photos that show the outfit in all its splendor:

For the rest of the weekend, I kept it fairly minimalist since I didn't have any other outfit: I spent the weekend with just one outfit.

I brought a very old Decathlon backpack that is still holding up (yes, I will replace it... one day) in which I had stored:

• Small bath items (you know, the kind of things you get in hotels) and a small towel

• A night outfit consisting of a gray Newtim t-shirt (I only wear merino t-shirts in autumn and winter, day and night), Uniqlo x Lemaire jogging pants and a change of underwear , all stored in a Muji zippered travel bag. This accessory, which has been recommended to me many times by Benoît, is really very useful!

In the end, I traveled quite light: my backpack was only half full.

Here is the recap of the BonneGueule pieces that were with me for this festival:

Michel, the carefree suicide bomber

David says that some go out feasting with their hands in their pockets. Thanks for the dedication. I actually like feeling completely free at a festival. Free in my movements to abandon myself to the present moment, without a bag, without loaded pockets, without sleeves and without contact between my legs and my pants. Free to be able to massacre the latter in a possible pogo without regretting it.

I also prefer aesthetics (at least, those that appeal to me) to technique. Our co-founder Benoît, a fan of techwear, will probably remind me of professional obligations for certain choices below. Too bad, I'm going for it.

When I prepare an outfit with constraints in mind, I always start with the pieces for which I have the least choice. In this case, it's a bit of a defeat on the shoe side. These should ideally:

• be comfortable, to spend 8 hours dancing (and above all looking for my fellow festival-goers in the crowd),
• not be too messy,
• keep my socks dry under the drops.

Priority to the first criterion, it will be a pair of sneakers. And I only have two: light gray New Balances and white and ecru Sauconys. My preference goes to Saucony, for their thick sole which will allow me to stomp freely, and quite simply because I love them.

Not having mesh inserts, they will hold up in the event of a short-term stay in the rain. We will iron for the messy appearance BUT when I put them in the machine, they come out like new. So I can go there without worrying.

Second step: the pants. Like I said, I want to be able to jump around without thinking about my business. Italian pockets prohibited, therefore. My smartphone would escape at the first drop of psytrance. I also want ease. Two candidates meet the criteria: a JW Anderson x Uniqlo black baggy jean and its faded blue counterpart. Techno obliges, it will be black.

In his front pockets, I can calmly leave:

• my smartphone,
• the same Alpine earplugs as David (on his recommendation),
• my card holder with just my license to identify myself at the entrance and my credit cards to pay for my apple juice, thus limiting the thickness.

End of inventory, to travel ultra-light between scenes. But this time, as you've seen, it involves leaving the heat of the dancefloor for the rain, wind and cold. I could have chosen a technical combat jacket like David, but my heart beats instead for this vintage cardigan that I like to wear with a tank top:

It will provide consistent hold, I can take it off when the heat and bpm are squeaky but it won't protect me from showers. So I complete it with a BonneGueule mac to end up with a classic winter layering:

• a cotton base layer for comfort (sorry Benoit),
• a knit top for the cold,
• water-repellent outerwear for the rain.

Here are the three configurations that will allow me to face all the conditions of this festival, without going through the locker room (bonus unlocked ✅).

Second bonus: include an outfit for the day before in my bag, pooling so that everything fits. I start with black jeans, I swap the top for my BonneGueule polo collar sweater , the sneakers for my black Velasca derbies and that's it.

Just to get there clean and smell good (at least for the first hour), I took:

• a facial cleansing gel ,
• a mattifying moisturizing gel , to apply on top afterwards,
• a styling wax, to keep my excessive hair mass away from my eyes,
• my perfume.

And as you can probably guess, I'm the type of guy who would rather take a second pair of shoes to save one of his outfits than a night outfit. So David saw me in my underwear in the common room. His therapy has been going pretty well since then.

... You are still here ? Alright.

To finish in style, here are two little photos of Michel and David during the festival, just to show you that we have told the truth, the whole truth, in this article.