Can racing save fashion retail or has the horse bolted?
As racing authorities look to greener pastures – in the sustainability sense – and encourage rentals and vintage at the track, is fashion retail at risk of being left at the starting post?
No, says Victoria Racing Club chief executive Kylie Rogers, who is marking her first Melbourne Cup Carnival in the role by wearing a roster of Australian designers, including Effie Kats, Zimmermann and Rachel Gilbert.
“As a woman, I always want to support other females who are doing what they can to support our industry,” she says.
Sophie Patrece and Ali Nejad model Derby Day looks with a twist at Flemington on Wednesday.Credit: Eddie Jim
Following the COVID-interrupted years of 2020 and 2021, crowds have trickled back to racing. But fashion’s fortunes have been slower to rebound. In 2023, Melbourne Cup Carnival attendees spent $49 million on retail purchases, including fashion and grooming, compared to $52 million in 2022, both of which lag way behind the $63 million spent in 2018.
Rogers, who is also a dedicated outfit renter, is confident retail spending linked to the Melbourne Cup is on a positive trajectory.
“Racing is the only sport with its own fashion category,” Rogers said at Wednesday’s launch of the 2024 Fashions on the Field competition, whose overall winners will be crowned on Oaks Day and share in $370,000 in prizes.
She says the races provided an economic boost to the local fashion industry “in a way no other major event does”.
Calibre head of brand and business development Edin Zecevic says the races offer a prime time to attract new customers to the brand. “Racing time is important for any brand that stocks tailoring ... [at other times of year] we lean more into the [more casual] elements, but during this time everything is merchandised for carnival, to encourage our customers to buy the full head-to-toe outfits,” he says.
Milliner Jill Humphries says her sales are up 61 per cent on last year, something she puts down to opening a boutique in Hampton, in Melbourne’s bayside. She says many clients are modifying spending in a cost-of-living crunch by re-wearing outfits from their wardrobe and adding new millinery or having existing hats updated with new features.
“Having a store means that people who have hesitated about buying millinery before are a little more confident,” she says. “When they have their photos taken, that’s the part that stands out.”
Victoria Racing Club chief executive Kylie Rogers wearing Zimmermann at Wednesday’s Fashions on the Field launch.Credit: Eddie Jim
A smaller but growing trend for the well-heeled – and organised – is made-to-measure. Chloe McCormack, who launched her tailoring business Chloe Monique in August, has fielded tens of orders from women seeking a one-of-a-kind racewear look that they can re-wear after the carnival.
Although individuality comes at a price – the average order costs about $2000 and takes six weeks – McCormack says clients of her atelier, in Melbourne’s Armadale “are hunting for pieces they can interchange with other elements in their wardrobe to make getting dressed for events an easy process”.
And, of course, there’s an eye for sustainability. “My clients want versatility in their wardrobe … quality separates they can wear beyond one event,” she says.
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