Let’s call it. Racewear, time of death, 10.30am, Cup Day. Cause of death, the arrival in the Birdcage of racing royalty Kate Waterhouse, in a fitted pink Gucci cocktail dress with matching tiara. Somewhere Barbie is delivering a round of applause while the taxidermy Phar Lap turns in his Melbourne Museum case.

Waterhouse looked runway-ready, polished and professional, but the expensive ensemble was more Met Gala than Flemington racecourse.

Racing royalty Kate Waterhouse wearing Gucci in the Lexus marquee on Cup Day; The dress on the Gucci spring summer 2022 runway.Credit:Eddie Jim, Getty.

“I think Derby Day and Oaks Day are when you stick with the rules but on Cup Day you can bend them, pushing the limits,” a poised Waterhouse said in her defence.

There are plenty of accessories to this fashion crime, which is more of a serial killing in strappy stilettos. Former Miss Universe contestant and mental health advocate Olivia Molly Rogers looked ready for next year’s Brownlow Medal ceremony in an embellished Oglia Loro red dress.

“It was a gown, but we chopped the bottom off,” says Rogers.

Internationally respected British milliner and Fashions on the Field judge Stephen Jones, defines racewear as an outfit that achieves “balance between the hats, outfit and person.”

“When it’s pouring down with rain and 11am in the morning, you want to avoid wearing a skimpy dress with heels. You need your woolly underwear on and a suit and a coat.”

Performer Delta Goodrem paid attention, wearing thermal underwear beneath her ladylike Dolce & Gabbana floral dress as Melbourne’s weather shifted from blue skies to icy rain. The majority of racegoers facing the elements outside the comfort of the Lexus, Mumm, and Penfolds marquees, were left covering spring dresses from Aje, Alemais and Supré in fake fur coats and puffer jackets.

The death of racewear has been drawn out since 1962, when British supermodel Jean Shrimpton shocked Melbourne matrons at Derby Day in a sleeveless white mini-dress, not bothering with a hat, gloves or stockings. It has limped along for decades with the encouragement of the lucrative Fashions on the Field competition, celebrating its 60th anniversary.

This year Fashions on the Field applied the defibrillators to racewear by opening the Best Dressed and Best Suited categories to all genders, but it’s time to say goodbye gracefully. Entrants demonstrate effort and a vintage elegance but the competition’s relevance to fashion is as great as bridesmaids’ and debutante dresses.

It did give Victoria Racing Club ambassador Christian Wilkins the opportunity to wear a Gucci tiara matching Waterhouse’s.

The British at Ascot racecourse still get racewear right, but centuries of tradition and the hat-wearing experience of the royal family doesn’t translate in Australia’s casual climate, where green and gold pass for national colours.

Former Miss Universe Australia Olivia Molly Rogers in a shortened Oglia Loro gown outside the Mumm marquee on Cup Day.Credit:Eddie Jim

The resilient Cup Day crowd made it clear that people want to dress for a day of gambling and gambolling, and the likes of Waterhouse, Rogers and television host Melissa Leong in a Gucci suit with a Stephen Jones hat, do it well.

Men have dodged the racewear rules for years, with a clean suit and polished shoes carrying them over the finish line, but even they can benefit from scratching the dated label.

“It’s time for a change,” says actor and motivational speaker Sam Webb, who was turned away from the Birdcage in a blazer, cropped trousers and open shirt without a tie.

“I’m a little dubious of the rules,” Webb says. “But I’m going to find myself a bow tie, get myself in there and make a fool of myself.”

Until racewear rests in peace, Webb won’t be alone.

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