Inspiring festival merch for inspiring festival fans

Festival season will soon be upon us, and in our merch-addled minds at ICON, this only means one thing…

If you’re a promoter, festival organiser or even running one-off events or club nights, merch is a big way to boost your income, give something back to fans and build a sense of community around your event.

And festival merch doesn’t need to be a dry logo t-shirt with the line up printed on the back. Hell no. We wanted to take a moment to pay homage to some of the UK festivals that have created something unique with their merch, which we hope will serve as inspiration for the potential of festival swag.

Gottwood

A boutique festival that’s taken the UK music scene by storm, it’s no surprise Gottwood have come up with some stella swag over the years. This t-shirt design was released for their 2015 event – we love the illustrative style, with the design stretching across the whole of the tee. Beneath the owl motif is a “G” – a hint at the festival name without being too in-your-face.

Field Maneuvers

A tiny electronic music festival for lovers of rave, the FM crew gather around 800 people to a field outside London for an intimate weekend of partying. While the festival is small in size, they go big when it comes to merch. This eye-popping long sleeve designed by Alec Jagodzinski feature as bright chest stamp, with even more goggle-eyes along the sleeves.

Houghton

Another boutique dance music festival, Houghton has gone for a different approach for its merch, honing in on some of the stars of its line up. We love the sketch style of the design on this tee, which features a mini-portrait of some of the best underground DJs.

Green Man

A much-loved festival for indie arts and music fans, we have no doubt this event does well selling its merch. This tee features a stylised version of the festival logo, with a hand stamp on the breast.

Choose Love X Wilderness Festival

This festival t-shirt from glam party Wilderness signifies a different approach. The festival collaborated with the charity Help Refugees to create this t-shirt, available via Asos.

Farr Festival

We love this simple, wearable design from Farr. It’s a classic longsleeve with the logo on the breast and the name along the sleeve. It’s a classic piece of merch that would easily become a staple in your wardrobe.

Boomtown

Boomtown is a rowdy affair and its merch range is no different with a big selection of apparel from t-shirts to vests to crop tops. We love the design on this ladies tee, which has a colourful graphic style and is a world away from the traditional merch designs.

Brainchild

Brainchild is a festival all about building a strong community that goes way beyond the event itself. With that in mind it’s no surprise it went for a simple design for its merch, encouraging fans to wear it day-to-day to show their connection and involvement with the event.

Want to print t-shirts for your festival, event or club night? ICON Printing offer fast turnaround printing with a wide-ranging catalogue from t-shirts to caps to bags. Get a quote in 2 minutes online.