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From catwalk to trackside: The evolution of race day fashion

1 October 2024 Written by The Sydney Morning Herald

In fashion, the only constant is change – and the same can be said for Fashions on the Field at the Melbourne Cup Carnival.

“Horse racing is the only sport that has its own fashion category,” says Victoria Racing Club Chairman Neil Wilson. “It’s absolutely integral to the event.”

Certainly, fashion and Flemington have gone hand in hand since the Lexus Melbourne Cup was first run in 1861, but these days it’s also big business. The economic impact and engagement study conducted by market research company IER found that $50 million was spent on fashion and grooming for Cup Week last year, Wilson says. “It is an environment where you can just go that little bit extra – it is what is welcomed and accepted.”

Just as race day styles have changed over the years, so too has the official Melbourne Cup Carnival Fashions on the Field competition evolved since its introduction in 1962. In 2022, the traditional Women’s and Men’s Racewear Awards became the gender-neutral Best Dressed and Best Suited, while the Lillian Frank AM MBE Millinery Award and the Emerging Designer Award now recognise talented creators.

With this year’s total prize pool worth more than $370,000, and entries welcomed from around the world, there’s never been a better time to put your best foot forward.

As we reflect on six decades of Fashions on the Field at Flemington, Wilson comments: “It is been a fantastic journey where we have seen some extravagant fashion and we have seen some conservative fashion. We have seen trends change, we have seen hemlines go up and down and we have seen styles come and go as the competition has evolved.”

1960s

Flemington’s first trackside fashion competition was held in 1960 as part of a lavish celebration for the 100th running of the Lexus Melbourne Cup. It proved to be such a success that by 1962, the official Fashions on the Field competition was established as an annual event. In the early years, the competition had three categories – best outfit under £30, best outfit over £50 and most elegant hat – and dress codes were typically demure. Tailored dresses and coats were favoured and gloves and stockings were considered de rigeur.

So, when British model Jean Shrimpton arrived at Penfolds Victoria Derby Day in 1965 wearing a sleeveless white minidress and no hat, gloves or stockings, it was a sartorial scandal. Her swinging-sixties-style outfit made front pages around the world – and remains one of the Carnival’s most iconic images.

Carnival fashion
Fashions on the Field

Fashions on the Field

Final winners in the Fashions on the Field, 1965.

Jean Shrimpton
The dress that stopped a nation

The dress that stopped a nation

Jean Shrimpton, attends Derby Day at Flemington in 1965.

1970s

Organisers hit pause on Fashions on the Field in 1971 but racegoers remained undeterred and continued the tradition of dressing up for the Melbourne Cup Carnival. While older guests were committed to conservative dress, the younger crowd favoured groovy 70s looks. Dresses were either long and flowing or ultra-short minis and many men wore flared trousers and jackets with wide lapels.

1980s

Fashions on the Field was back, baby – officially reinstated in 1981. In true 80s style, it quickly became a more-is-more affair, with shoulder pads, ruffles and oversized hats all jostling for attention (sometimes in a single outfit). His Majesty King Charles (then the Prince of Wales) and Diana, Princess of Wales, were the guests of honour at the 1985 event, with the princess bringing her signature timeless style to Flemington in a navy and white suit by one of her favourite designers, Bruce Oldfield, paired with a hat by Australian-born milliner Freddy Fox.

1990s

The international reputation of Fashions on the Field flourished in the 90s and by the middle of the decade, the total prize pool had skyrocketed to over $100,000. The prize money wasn’t the only thing to have grown: millinery entered a new era at this time, with oversized and theatrical designs adorned with floral displays, bows and enormous feathers.

2000s

With the fashion competition attracting more attention than ever, the time was right to open it up to a new cohort of entrants: men. And so, the menswear category was added in 2001, encouraging guys to flex their sartorial muscle in suits worn with flamboyant ties and pocket squares.

This was also the era when the different events on the Melbourne Cup Carnival calendar cemented their style direction – black and white for Penfolds Victoria Derby Day, extravagant for Lexus Melbourne Cup, feminine for Crown Oaks Day and more relaxed for TAB Champions Stakes Day – and racegoers delighted in planning a different outfit for each event.

2010

If there’s one look that stands out in Wilson’s mind from this decade, it’s Nicole Kidman at Penfolds Victoria Derby Day in 2012, wearing a silk and lace dress reminiscent of Audrey Hepburn’s famous Ascot outfit in the 1964 film My Fair Lady. Kidman topped her L’Wren Scott-designed dress with a broad-brimmed hat by English milliner Stephen Jones.

Nicole Kidman at Penfolds Victoria Derby Day in 2012,

2020

We’re just four years into the new decade but trackside fashion has already evolved once again to recognise a more inclusive and creative way of dressing. “We want to reflect the important traditions of our sport, but we also very much want to be in line with where fashion is heading,” Wilson explains. “People are exhibiting their individual flair and we’ve seen it drive engagement to a new level.”

It's time to get your outfit ready.

It's time to get your outfit ready.

Entries to this year’s Melbourne Cup Carnival Fashions on the Field close Friday October 4. The on-course competition can be entered in The Fashion Garden in The Park during Cup Week, and winners of the Best Dressed and Best Suited categories will be announced on Crown Oaks Day.

Fashions on the Field

Fashions on the Field

Entry to The Park is free with a general admission ticket. Visit the Melbourne Cup Carnival Fashions on the Field website for full details.

Prices for a General Admission ticket to the Melbourne Cup Carnival start at $65, and include entry to The Park, where the Melbourne Cup Carnival Fashions on the Field events are held. For more details and to book your ticket, visit here.

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