Posh frocks and stylish hats raised the bar high at the Meydan Style Stakes on Saturday, with dozens of fashion-forward individuals participating in the annual event at the Dubai World Cup.
Australia’s Alla Dimech was named the Best Dressed Lady, revealing to Gulf News tabloid! that she had created her own design for the world’s richest horse race.
The dress that won over the judges was a white and brown striped ensemble with a beige paisley print covering the inner folds of the dress. Her fascinator was made with a woven natural burlap fabric.
“My fascinator is completely eco-friendly and made with biodegradable material,” she said, adding: “I came all the way from Australia to Dubai because of the World Cup. It’s an absolute pleasure to be here in this wonderful atmosphere.”
Nader Telab from Sudan walked away with the title of the Best Dressed Man.
After his win, he said: “I used to be a stylist back when I lived in Sudan and I created my own three-piece suit.”
His winning outfit comprised a white suit, with a powder blue waistcoat. He completed the look with a royal blue umbrella, with a golden orb handle.
Neil Carpenter and Lisa Wellings were the winners of the title of Best Dressed Couple. Twinning in hues of blue, Carpenter completed the look with a top hat; meanwhile, Wellings won over the judges with her detailed blue lace dress.
“The World Cup of Dubai is very classy, so we wanted to reflect that,” said Carpenter. “We were going for a prestigious look. And what we wore was representative of Dubai.”
When asked about the top hat, Carpeter added: “I bought the top hat from Berlin. I spotted it in a hat shop while I was running a marathon and had to come back the next day to look for the shop.”
The title for the Most Creative Hat was won by Charlotte Coddis, an artist based in Dubai.
“I love to make wearable art,” she stated, revealing that she designed the hat, inspired by the French artist Henry Mattise. “I even hand painted my own clutch in similar colours,” she added, as she held up her monogrammed “C.C” clutch.
The Best Hat award went to Oksana Belyeaeva, who also designed her own hat. Originally from Russia and based in Australia, Belyeaeva stated she had flown to Dubai specifically to attend the horse race.
The semi-professional milliner said her hat was made out of plastic and rubber.
“I didn’t expect to win,” she said. “I enjoy dressing up and having some fun with my outfits.”
The contests were judged by fashion director of Design 24 Noor Breish, award winning-milliner Ana Pribylova, fashion editor of Esquire Middle East Daniel Higgins, Grazia Middle East fashion and beauty editor Lucy Wildman and blogger Tala Samman.
Rules of the Meydan Style Stakes stated that participants had to wear hats and fascinators at all times.
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Other unique designs
Paris Norris, who was a hopeful for Best Dressed Man, wore his grandmother’s curtains as a shirt underneath his blazer.
He custom-made the curtains into a shirt and paired it with a white suit.
Nevin Mihic, a designer from Russia, who was also in the running to win Best Dressed Man, wore a suit with the world map printed in it. He said: “The main inspiration for my suit was my love for travel. I designed and created the suit myself. I love that anyone can come up to me and find their country on my clothes.”
