The Victoria’s Secret Angel leaving the bras behind for Derby Day

Brazilian supermodel Alessandra Ambrosio’s ample range on the runway makes her suitably qualified to navigate the new dress and undress rules of Derby Day.

Having delivered buttoned-up looks for Louis Vuitton and belly-button baring looks in lingerie for Victoria’s Secret, cracking the updated dress codes of the Victoria Racing Club at Flemington Racecourse is a piece of low-fat cake.

Former Victoria’s Secret Angel, supermodel Alessandra Ambrosio is preparing for her Derby Day debut as an exclusive guest of Lexus in their three-storey Landmark marquee in The Birdcage.Credit: Getty

“I think it is important to incorporate glamour and elegance with comfort,” Ambrosio, 42, says. “Designers like Ralph Lauren and Hermès would probably be my first choices, as they always mix sophistication with just the right amount of fun.”

The VRC’s chairman Neil Wilson can breathe a sigh of relief that, as an exclusive guest of Lexus in the Birdcage on Derby Day, Ambrosio won’t be challenging dress codes with forbidden above the knee short suits or generous midriffs.

“I lean towards a contemporary style when it comes to racewear.”

Ambrosio’s racewear views were formed quickly following her last-minute addition to the Melbourne Cup carnival celebrity line-up, which includes Australian supermodel Adut Akech, body activist and model Georgina Burke and Prince William’s cousins Lady Eliza Spencer and Lady Amelia Spencer. This is Ambrosio’s first time at the races and there’s one outfit element that she’s still coming to grips with.

“I love hats, but mainly at the beach,” Ambrosio says. “I know people wear them to races often, so I might have to try as well.”

Models more familiar with runways than racecourses have been a regular feature at Flemington racecourse, since Jean Shrimpton shocked Derby Day crowds with her swinging London style in 1965. Rachel Hunter, Erica Packer, Naomi Campbell and Gigi Hadid have all endured crash courses in accessorising with a form guide as guests at the event.

More familiar to the 25-year modelling veteran than the starters in the Derby is a line-up of preferred Australian designers.

“The relaxed and stylish approach of Australian designers resonates with me,” Ambrosio says. “Brazilians love the beach and being by the water, and Australians enjoy that as well, and it is reflected in both of our styles. I often wear Zimmerman, Bec + Bridge, Maurie and Eve, Alex Perry, and I really love what Dion Lee has been creating lately.”

Less and more: Alessandra Ambrosio wearing the Victoria’s Secret fantasy bra in 2012 and at Milan Fashion Week in September.Credit: Getty

Ambrosio has been working with a variety of labels since her 17-year stint at Victoria’s Secret alongside Adriana Lima, Gisele Bundchen and Miranda Kerr in the top-tier of models known as Angels, came to an end in 2017. Ambrosio left a year before widespread criticism of the brand’s approach to body and racial diversity ended the annual extravaganzas of embellished bras and minuscule thongs.

Since it’s final runway show in 2018, Victoria’s Secret has attempted more diverse campaigns featuring plus-size model Paloma Elsesser, Akech and transgender model Valentina Sampaio.

Despite the controversies, Ambrosio’s memories of her time with Victoria’s Secret – when she regularly appeared near the top of Forbes’ list of highest earning models – are positive.

“There are so many amazing experiences but the most memorable would be when I wore the fantasy bra at the Victoria’s Secret show for the first time,” she says. “I just had my second baby and I knew I was coming back for the show, but when I learned that I would be wearing fantasy bra, I was even more excited.”

The bra, with 20-carat cut diamond centrepiece, was valued at $US2.5 million ($3.88 million) but is not in Ambrosio’s check-in luggage, with bralettes and bandeau crops – with or without diamonds – banned at the racecourse.

At Derby Day, expect less Bundchen and more Barbie from the model.

“For me, Margot Robbie, Cate Blanchett and Nicole Kidman epitomise Australian style. They always look effortlessly elegant.”

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