The epic conclusion to Dennis Villeneuve’s Dune trilogy hits cinemas this December, but it seems like the promo has already started. This weekend, London’s Burgess Park was accidentally transformed into fictional desert planet Arrakis, complete with dust bowls and sand that slapped the skin whenever the wind blew. 

Worryingly, London is currently experiencing a heatwave every other week, meaning our green spaces have turned yellow with drought. As for the inner-city festivals, as thousands of attendees storm London’s biggest parks, the ground gets kicked up, and the dust makes it look like the surface of the Sahara. Last week, at Reggae Land in Milton Keynes, one TikTok user shared a video of a dust tornado spinning across the former field. 

Already, multiple TikTok posts are comparing Maiden Voyage to the set of Dune 3, with users commenting: ‘Shower ran BLACK’, ‘Low budget Burning Man’ and sharing pictures of their grubby, dust-covered bodies. After experiencing a similar situation at last year’s All Points East festival in Victoria Park, some attendees came prepared – sporting balaclavas, face coverings and bandanas that matched their outfits. 

Founded in 2019 as the lovechild of four of London’s biggest queer raves (Pxssy Palace, Adonis, Fold/Unfold and Tech Couture), this year marked Maiden Voyage’s seventh outing, with a line-up including Tokischa, HAAi, Jyoty, Sherelle and Helena Hauff. As usual, the crowd dug out their glad rags for the occasion – whether that was a simple, crisp black vest, or more extravagant furs and leathers. 

If Maiden Voyage is anything to go by, the upcoming All Points East dates are guaranteed to be even dustier than last year. Attendees better add balaclavas to their packing list – but there’s no reason why they can’t become part of the look. Swipe through the gallery above for inspiration.