STYLE
The future is in good hands
The Emerging Designer Award held on Derby Day is a platform for young designers to show their talents, with outfits that are usually much wilder than the traditional. Take last year’s winner, Caroline Caroline, whose dress, She Lives in a Dollhouse, stood out for its unexpected mix of materials and larger- than-life wooden bow. Combining wood, organdie and chiffon, Caroline actually worked with a boatbuilder to bring the piece to life. “It was challenging at first to translate my design perspective into something he could work with,” she said. “I’d bring cardboard and paper prototypes to his studio, and over time, we found a rhythm.” The stories may all be different, but they all point to the same thing: craftsmanship still has a place at Flemington. The slow craft never left – it simply keeps finding new hands to work it.
From a digital entry to the podium Foster Mwaba entered the 2025 Best Dressed Digital Competition from New Zealand, combining three different vintage dresses into one, adding her own pearl detailing to the back and making a matching hat by hand to finish it. “Fashion is my happy place,” the self- taught dressmaker said of the process.
Global influences Sherlon Garbo’s multiple wins have featured raffia-fringed bags and sculptural hats, drawing on weaving traditions from Africa, the Pacific and Australia. He is also adept at turning his own hand to creating, winning the inaugural Best Suited in 2022 with his tailored jacket, shirt and tie paired with a skirt that he made himself. Super Saturday Best Suited winner Arif Scholachudin brought a different kind of craft to the field. His suit – a cropped jacket and wide-leg trouser in warm stone linen with a bold tonal print – was made to his own design in his home country of Indonesia, finished with a batik tie in a nod to his roots, weaving his background directly into the winning look.
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