In an elaborate combination of elegance and flare, the book release of Fashion & Flemington launched by designer and contributing writer Leona Edmiston in her Melbourne GPO boutique commemorates fifty years of the sensational Fashions on the Field. This must-have coffee table book explores the fashion so famously associated with the spring racing festival, and the grandiosity and splendor that transformed it into an international style phenomenon.
The most significant fashion display in Australia, the Melbourne Spring Fashion Carnival transcends all other events of its kind. There are very few places around the world that captures style in its truest form. Each look is individual, catering to a unique personality. It is this diversity that exacerbates the excitement surrounding the festival and why it is so special when it comes to fashion and style.
Leona Edmiston’s’ boutique was in keeping with the tone of the book. Beautiful and shapely, her line of racewear exhibits the level of style and elegance expected at the races, with just the right amount of quirky. Attending the event was editor Emily Power, former stylist on The Circle, and Leona Edmiston ambassador Amber Petty. The sheer enjoyment of everyone in attendance encapsulates the culture surrounding the fashion carnival, and with Leona’s diverse new range no excuse remains to by-pass this year’s racing carnival.
Though absent from the event itself, Australian designer Leona Edmiston eloquently contributed the introduction to this beautiful book. Filled with pages of glossy photography and descriptions of each of the races, momentous occasions and moments associated with the carnival throughout the years, it is a must have for any fashion savvy woman. A spectacular image of Jean Shrimpton as she stepped out in her famous little white dress is included in the book. Jean Shrimpton was the number one supermodel of the day, and her most notable appearance was at the 1965 Australian Derby Day. She was made infamous in race day history when she stepped out in a dress revealing her knees, and though it caused a scandal at the time, she had unwittingly invented the mini-skirt.
Covering everything from the outfit expectations on each of the days to past winners of the Fashions on the Field events, Fashion & Flemington certainly raised the hype for this year’s Spring Carnival. This book is a practical and insightful look at the development of growth of Australian race-wear fashion. It invites you to be daring, different and to uphold the diversity that has made this event world-famous. It is time to prepare your fascinators and break-in those shoes, because the Spring Racing Carnival is here!
Leave a Reply