The Sundance Film Festival has been at home alongside a mountain in Park City, Utah during the peak of winter for over 40 years. It differs from its contemporary film festivals for two reasons: weather and location. The two elements that dictate the way people decide to get dressed also fall into those factors. Where are you going? And what is the temperature you must prepare yourself for?

Sundance, because of its cold-weather conditions, becomes an event that requires a utilitarian uniform of sorts. Think parkas, down jackets, and fur coats vs. the tuxedos and ball gowns that dominate a place like the Cannes Film Festival, which comes with its own (outdated?) dress codes. The Utah festival’s less glamorous grounds make for some of the most interesting outfits on a film calendar filled with red carpets and premieres and photo calls. Eugene Hernandez, the director of Sundance, told me what makes the festival compelling when it comes to style is the “unknown factor” of the weather. He said, “You can have a plan, and then the weather can adjust that plan which allows for some fun.”

Sundance has provided a plethora of iconic looks over its 40 year run in Park City. While attending this year on behalf of Hypebeast, some festivalgoers I spoke to were reminiscing of the early ‘00s Y2K era of fits. Deja Williams, a publicist at a PR company representing key names in the film industry, told me that “the early 2000s really sells the Sundance dream” and informs how she dresses at the festival today. Some key looks she highlighted were Bob Dylan at the Masked and Anonymous premiere in 2003, Lucy Liu for Lucky Number Slevin in 2006, Chloë Sevigny, Penelope Cruz… “That decade literally carried the torch for festival fashion favorites that have gone down in history,” said Williams.

You can’t talk about Sundance style without mentioning its late eponymous founder, Robert Redford, who was a menswear icon himself. With 2026 being the first festival after the passing of Redford, as well as the very last to be held in Utah, a heartfelt tribute was shown before each film screening — memorializing his valiant dedication to independent cinema. One look featured in the dedication clip that stood out to Janicza Bravo, Sundance Jury member and director of the 2020 crime comedy Zola, was Redford adorned in double denim. She explained, “The image is seared into my mind.” The perfectly fit and lived-in look was something she thought was “effortless” on Redford’s part. In our discussions about this outfit, we both agreed that Olivia Wilde and Chris Pine might have been paying homage to the Redford uniform at this year’s festival. You can see Pine tucked a denim shirt into a matching pair of jeans and held it together with a brown Western belt. Wilde channeled a similar look, but topped it off with a pair of oversized thin wired frames, eerily similar to a pair once made famous by the Sundance Kid himself. She even included an image of Robert Redford in her IG dump from the festival… I guess that confirms it?

This year’s iteration of Sundance proved to be no different when it comes to sartorial moments, continuing to hold onto its legacy of being a festival littered with jackets. Having been able to finally attend the sacred grounds myself to see the action in person, I was able to gain further intel into what’s actually happening around town vs. the manicured version I’ve been fed on social media. I got to see how the actual people attending and working the festival dressed, which, in my opinion, proved to be rather fruitful.

With Sundance closing up shop in Park City and moving to an equally wintry Boulder, Colorado in 2027, I think it’s safe to say that the aesthetics we associate with the festival will continue to thrive in its new home town. Below, I detail the most salient style moments I observed both online and off during Utah’s last hurrah as the capital of independent cinema.

Charli xcx’s The Moment

We’re officially in a post-Marty Supreme jacket world. Charli xcx’s The Moment was on everybody’s radar at the festival this year. Her presence loomed over Park City for a few days as each of the three films (The Moment, The Gallerist, and I Want Your Sex) she played acting roles in debuted back to back to back. A24 made some custom neon rave colored puffer jackets adorned with corporate spoofed The Moment logos that felt reminiscent of the OG streetwear ethos I used to read all about on this website. Stuff like Marlboro and McDonald’s logos flipped to say The Moment. The jackets were made for Charli in collaboration with her dream team just weeks before the festival — her director Aidan Zamiri, her stylist Chris Horan, and the art director/designer Sasyk. The sheer fact that a down puffer jacket was chosen as the silhouette for this statement piece hammers home the idea that this festival is all about practicality. Other movie promo merch items for The Moment that are contextual to the Sundance experience are the bright brat green beanies and scarves I saw all around town.

Kenneth Cole’s Festival-Issued Jackets

The brand that is overwhelmingly present in the frigid Park City winter is not Arc’teryx or The North Face or Patagonia… it’s Kenneth Cole. The American designer has been a member of the Sundance Institute’s Board of Directors since 2003. He’s a staunch advocate of Robert Redford’s vision and is a dedicated supporter of the thousands of volunteers who help run the festival. For every Sundance since 2004, the brand has created over 2,500 customized jackets for the volunteer staff who have to wait out in the cold all day to assist festivalgoers traverse the grounds. Each year’s special issued jacket is different from the previous years, it’s a new design and color each time. The only design elements that stay the same are the Sundance logo and the year on the right chest and the brand’s logo on the back.

Eugene Hernandez told me that Kenneth Cole himself is “very involved” in the jacket’s design that represents the festival every year. It’s unmissable, every corner on every street you will easily spot two or three people in these bright yellow to grey ombre jackets. Some of my favorite looks from Sundance involved seeing how the volunteer staff would personalize their jackets. Some got creative with the placement of their pins and others had Mr. Cole autograph their jackets with a sharpie. This year’s edition was extra special because it featured a commemorative badge on the sleeve for Robert Redford.

Performative Performance Gear

It’s obvious, but when it’s cold outside, you need a proper jacket. I just spent a few paragraphs in the intro of this article telling you exactly that. But for me, as a born and raised San Fernando Valley kid, the world of performance techwear and down jackets are absolutely alien. I come from the mecca of light outerwear, so being plopped into the middle of a ski town where at any time in the winter it could reach temperatures close to 0 degrees Fahrenheit I could not help but notice all the cold weather garments. All around Park City you can hear the swishing sounds of GORE‑TEX-laden jackets and pants. What was even more interesting was watching how festivalgoers mixed the worlds of cold performance gear with everyday wardrobes.

Rafael Manuel, winner of The World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Creative Vision for Filipiñana, wore a bright red Lulelemon zip up underneath his olive colored corduroy work shirt while accepting his award. Manuel told me he comes from a warm climate and says “comfort in the cold comes beyond everything else.” He said layering is not something he gets to do often because of the climate he comes from and relishes the opportunity to do so here. I found myself relating heavily to this sentiment and found it to be very representative of the crowds I’ve observed at Sundance. The festival brings in people from all over the world, but mostly industry folk from LA who don’t get many chances to dust off their Arc’teryx Beta jackets and use them for what they’re meant for.

Mountain Chic

Possibly my least favorite Sundance style trope is what Sean Wang, director of Dìdi, calls “mountain chic.” It’s essentially dressing like a cold weather cowboy. The essentials are a bolo tie, jeans, a wide brimmed cowboy hat, with boots. I presume there could be versions of this that can be tastefully done, but in this era of ill-fitting pants (too tight) and cheaply made fast fashion I did not see any cowboy looks that were worthy of praise at my time down in Park City (on a second glance the Jaripeo team, pictured above, does look pretty cool). I guess I’m more so thinking of the some of the bad examples of this aesthetic I saw attempted all around town. It is, however, another demarcation point of Sundance in comparison to your Cannes or Venice Film Festivals. All around town you can spot many friend groups with at least one person in cowboy chic drag.

The Fits of @DirectorFits

As for my personal Sundance looks? I kept it really simple. As much as I love clothes and writing about them, I hate having to pick things out from my closet everyday. I’m always running late to things and never have the luxury of moseying around in my closet. In my time studying the sartorial habits of filmmakers, I’ve grown to really appreciate a good uniform. I’ve tried to incorporate that methodology into my own wardrobe over the years. On the grounds everyday in Park City, I wore some version of black Ben Davis Original Ben’s work pants, black Mephisto Match sneakers, a dolphin blue cropped zip up hoodie from LA Apparel, a white t-shirt underneath, with a black Barbour Transport jacket, and a bright orange Pacific Tote Company bag. Nothing crazy, always looks good, and is forever timeless. See you later, Park City. And catch you soon, Boulder.

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