Trainers at the track. How Sydney is rewriting racewear rules

Traditional racewear is being reimagined in Sydney, but still your best bet in Melbourne.

Racewear competitions have been slowly phased out of major Sydney race days by the Australian Turf Club with a social media mention the only recognition at Rosehill’s Golden Slipper on Saturday.

While some have questioned the move, the shift away from traditional racewear competitions is outweighed by growing ticket sales at the ATC.

“Our general admission audience continues to grow, and they continue to break the traditional rules of racewear fashion,” says Donna Forbes, head of commercial at the ATC, which oversees Randwick and Rosehill racecourses. “Comfort is key to our younger audience.”

“We are seeing people in the general admission areas wearing Australian designer dresses and Reeboks. We want people to know that you can turn up in shorts or a $700 dress.”

Victoria Racing Club chief executive Kylie Rogers (left) with milliner and Fashions on the Field judge, Jill Humphries at Flemington Racecourse.Credit: Wayne Taylor

Those with long associations with race day fashions, however, see things differently.

“It’s taking away the sense of occasion from the races,” said Sydney milliner Andrea Cainero of Somewhere Here hats. “People interested in racewear competitions now have to travel to Melbourne.”

Matching hats and gloves are still on point in Melbourne, buoyed by the return of the Fashions on the Field competition after a 13-year absence at Flemington Racecourse on Saturday.

“Power to the ATC if they are going more casual, but our audience is telling us that they want to dress up,” says Kylie Rogers, chief executive of the Victoria Racing Club. “My vision is to bring the competition back for all three autumn race days next year. We may even open it up to all of our Group One days.

“We are proud that racing is the only Australian sport with an internationally acclaimed fashion competition. Why wouldn’t we tap into that?”

Rogers says fashion will remain an important feature of major race days at Flemington. The 2024 Melbourne Cup Carnival economic impact report released by the VRC showed the event contributed $52.7 million to the Victorian economy from retail, fashion and grooming.

“I have milliners coming up to me, thanking me for supporting their industry,” Rogers says.

Melbourne-based milliner Jill Humphries has seen business increase by 61 per cent compared to this time last year. She credits the return of Fashions on the Field for the sales spike.

“Racegoers are angry about the casualisation of the races in Sydney,” Humphries says. “If we didn’t have the races, we wouldn’t have a business.”

“I have customers travelling from interstate because if they win in the best-suited or best-dressed categories, they are immediately entered in the finals of Fashions on the Field in the Melbourne Cup carnival on Oaks Day.”

It’s a different story for Sydney-based milliner Cainero, who is struggling to find local customers.

“The majority of my clients are now interstate or overseas,” Cainero says. “We are in danger of losing our craft.”

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