Derby Day: Pip Edwards’ no pants look stuns racegoers at Flemington

Athleisure entrepreneur Pip Edwards was the talk of the Birdcage enclosure at Flemington for her see through skirt, which has divided opinions.

Pip Edwards at the Lexus Marquee. Picture: Lexus

The Victoria Racing Club has given the tick of approval to athleisure entrepreneur Pip Edwards’ ‘no pants’ racewear.

Edwards was the talk of the Birdcage enclosure at Flemington on Saturday wearing a see through skirt.

The uproar over men’s shorts as racewear was silenced as soon as the PE Nation designer arrived at the Lexus marquee in a bodysuit that looked like a bathing suit at the bottom and a suit jacket top, with a sheer overskirt

The custom creation by designer Lillian Khallouf literally had people stopping in their tracks to turn and watch Edwards saunter by.

Pip Edwards and Sarah Lucas at the Lexus Marquee. Picture: Lexus

Bizarrely, the see-through look was deemed acceptable by the Victoria Racing Club and in accordance with its dress code rules because, while the skirt may have been see-through, it was a skirt.

Short jumpsuits and playsuits that are above the knee are listed as unacceptable, but a skirt, no matter how sheer, over a bodysuit gets the okay from the fashion police.

The designer’s fashion forward look is not expected to spark a rash of backsides and upper thighs being displayed via gossamer thin skirting at Flemington during the remainder of Cup Week.

The ‘pantless’ look is a somewhat niche racewear movement.

While Edwards may have got the thumbs up from the VRC, many on social media thought the outfit was an outrage.

“Sometimes less isn’t more. What happened to beautiful elegance?” wrote one.

“That poor girl must have lost her skirt so wrapped herself in Glad Wrap instead,” commented another.

“Times are tough to wrap a plastic bag around your waist. Rubbish outfit,” posted another.

“Did she forget pants and was in a hurry?” a Facebook comment read.

“Leave the no pants look for the nightclub; no, actually leave it at home,” another post declared.

“Looks like grandma knickers,” read another.

“A leotard with mesh is not fancy. Let’s get back to reality here and start dressing properly,” commented another Facebook user.

“Looks exactly like a nappy underneath,” wrote another.

Others likened her look to wearing Bonds CottonTail undies or adult diapers as racewear.

The custom creation by designer Lillian Khallouf literally had people stopping in their tracks to turn and watch Edwards saunter by – and wonder if she had forgotten a crucial element of her outfit.

Her see through fashion statement, not surprisingly, saw her trailed by photographers as she darted up the stairs at the exclusive Lexus enclave in her sporty ensemble.

“Always keeping it sporty,” she said of her eye-catching outfit on Instagram.

But was it a forward fashion moment or a fashion fail?

And is underwear as outerwear and transparent skirts a trend the Victoria Racing Club has forgotten to legislate against in its dress code regulations.

Nothing in the Flemington dress rules state you can’t wear a see-through skirt to the Birdcage.

However short jumpsuits and playsuits that are above the knee are listed as unacceptable.

But does that include custom bodysuits?

This could be a case for the fashion police.

Edwards prides herself on being healthy, fit and active and is often snapped in swimwear in her hometown of Sydney.

“I work on my body. It is part of my mental health, it is part of my stability, it is part of how I conquer my day,” she said in January.

Pip Edwards in her sheer racing skirt. Picture: Instagram

Her active lifestyle is part of her PE Nation brand’s DNA.

So while her Derby Day outfit may have been a surprise to some, it was hardly revealing for Edwards.

Edwards later changed outfits and headed to the Tequila Don Julio 1942’s Celebration at Beverly Rooftop in South Yarra which was also attended by Jade Yarborough.

The two women have something in common – former cricketer Michael Clarke.

In Noosa in January, Yarbrough famously accused Clarke of cheating on her with his ex, Edwards, in December.

The loud, emotional and colourful exchange in a Noosa carpark between Clarke, Yarborough, her sister Jasmine and Karl Stefanovic was caught on video by an onlooker and led to Yarborough dumping Clarke at that point.

It was a day of close encounters for the “Noosa four.”

Stefanovic and Clarke were both at Flemington in the Birdcage on Saturday, but did not cross paths.

Stefanovic and his wife Jasmine enjoyed the day in the Crown marquee while Clarke was a guest at the TAB marquee.