Picture this: It’s June 2005, the British skies are crying, Glastonbury is muddy, and Kate Moss has just arrived in tall black Hunter boots. She wears them with a gold long-sleeve minidress, a thick leather belt hanging low on her waist, and the kind of nonchalant attitude that would soon become synonymous with festival dressing. The boots, meanwhile, are doing exactly what they were designed to do: keeping her feet dry and grounding her outfit in the reality of a very UK summer.
What Moss didn’t realize in that moment was that one styling choice would become so much more. Thanks to her effortlessly cool ensemble, she would transform the humble Wellington boot from a countryside staple into a fashion accessory, helping define what festival style would look like for years to come and how fashion insiders would remember Hunter boots.
At the time, Hunter boots were very much intertwined with British culture. They belonged as much to the countryside as to the festival grounds. However, Moss changed the context. Paired with a minidress on the first day and then with micro shorts and a waistcoat the next, the boots suddenly felt less like something you wore for the weather and more like something you wanted to wear because of it. The mix of practicality and glamour made the boots feel like a true finishing touch that added a layer of style—rather than an afterthought.
But since the early to mid-2000s, Moss hasn’t been photographed in the boots—until now. More than two decades later, Moss has traded her classic pumps for her beloved Wellies, and in a very iconic way. To celebrate Hunter’s 170th anniversary, Moss stars in the brand’s fall/winter 2026 Iconic by Nature campaign, revisiting the relationship between one of fashion’s most recognizable faces and one of Britain’s most recognizable boots.
The campaign honors the past while looking firmly toward the future. And for Moss, that connection goes back to those muddy Glastonbury Festival grounds. “I’ve been a loyal fan of Hunter for years, ever since the festival where I wore them with way too short shorts and a waistcoat,” Moss says in the press release. “I was just about to leave the house and heard it was already knee-high in mud in the fields. I went to my trusted Hunter Wellies in my closet. They were black, tighter to the leg, and waterproof. Bingo!”
It’s a fitting reunion. The boots that accompanied Moss through wet days at Glastonbury have spent years moving between country life, music festivals, and the fashion world. It’s also timely, as rain boots are having a true fashion moment. From London to NYC and New England, the style set is embracing the shoe, pairing them with everything from flowing dresses and headscarves to shorts and barn jackets.
Keep scrolling to see how Moss styled the Hunter boots in the early 2000s and how she wears them now. Then, discover the new versions of her favorite styles for fall.
Hunter Boots on Kate Moss in the Early 2000s
Hunter Boots on Kate Moss in 2026
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