When it comes to selecting a hat for the Melbourne Cup carnival, ignore advice from the betting ring to go big or go home. Styles big or small will meet with the approval of the city’s milliners.
“There is no hat trend,” says milliner Jill Humphries. “Big hats, pillboxes, fedoras are all creating amazing silhouettes.”
Milliner Felicity Northeast adds: “The pillbox style is great because people can push it a bit further on the back of their head, or tilt it to the side.
“There’s more than fascinators.”
Models at the launch of Fashions on the Field at Flemington Racecourse, all wearing Millinery Jill hats. Achan is wearing a Kryzsztov Bridal dress; and Clare Walker and Olivia Taranto are in Sonia Cappellazzo dresses.Credit: Simon Schluter
Louise Macdonald, who in July displayed her hats at the 2025 Festival du Chapeau in France, says size doesn’t matter. “Felicity has had customers ordering wide brims, while I’ve found smaller styles are popular,” Macdonald says. “Size doesn’t matter. It’s just reassuring that people want hats.”
For decades, flimsy feathered fascinators reigned supreme along the rails, but entrants in this year’s Lillian Frank Millinery Award, as part of the long-running Fashions on the Field competition, span Northeast’s design using 20 metres of vintage braid to mesh top hats, elongated riding caps and a sunflower design of yellow feathers.
There has also been a 50 per cent increase in entrants this year, thanks to changes in entry regulations and a prize package valued at $50,000.
After countless failed uploads and thumbs on smartphone cameras last year, rules requiring entrants to submit video profiles of their hat-making process, along with extensive portfolios, have been scrapped.
“We’re milliners not video makers,” says Northeast. “It’s a lot to ask of creatives.”
