Serca Williams:

Babooshka Beauty is going to be based in the Smirnoff Stage area at Electric Picnic, and we’ll be doing glitter and festival braids. There’ll be all kinds of different glitter looks – glitter beards for guys, glitter hair, glitter under your eyes, glitter shoulders, glitter on your chest! We also do jewels.

It’s great that Electric Picnic is an eco-friendly festival. We use all biodegradable glitter. Working in salons all my life, I’ve seen how much waste goes out. Whereas now, salons are working on cutting down their waste. I’ve seen a big change in the last few years, even with the big brands we’re buying our products from.

We’ll also be doing a special, coloured festival feed in braids. It’s going to be so exciting. People tend to have bold looks at festivals. It’s a time and place where people can do, and wear, what they want.

The looks you see at festivals you’d never see walking down the street. People express themselves, with a bit more colour, glitz and glam. For me, it’s part of the excitement. Asking yourself, ‘What am I going to wear?’ is half the fun. It allows you to go outside your comfort zone. I enjoy helping people create festival looks – we do a lot of them in Babooshka. We’d be booked up the whole week leading up to Electric Picnic for people getting braids done pre-festival.

This year, Smirnoff are putting a real emphasis on getting different creative collectives involved in their area – it feels special to be a part of that. I’m so happy to work with them. It’s an honour. I think we fit the bill really well, in terms of getting people looking glam and ready for the festival.

There’s a strong sense of community among creatives in Ireland – we all support each other. A lot of customers come from word-of-mouth. Even local coffee shops are sharing us, which has been huge for us. The Smirnoff Stage is also putting a big emphasis on inclusivity and accessibility – that’s something that needs to be addressed more at festivals. I’ve worked at so many and it can be very hard for someone with a disability, so it’s amazing they’re making it possible for more people.

I can’t wait to see Kylie Minogue and all her LGBTQ fans. My guess is that we’ll be seeing a lot of colourful braids and glitter at her set!

Stay tuned to Hot Press for more information about Smirnoff at Electric Picnic...

The Smirnoff Stage will feature at Electric Picnic 2024, which takes place at Stradbally Hall in Co. Laois from August 16–18.