Fashion comes to the fore at Royal Ascot each year and for 2022 the focus turned to the Royal Ascot Millinery Collective – and a rather special outfit design.
ROYAL ASCOT MILLINERY COLLECTIVE
Ascot Racecourse and Fenwick, Royal Ascot’s Official Millinery Sponsor, joined forces with
12 of Britain’s milliners to present a collection of uniquely designed pieces consisting of both established British brands and new talent.
The requirement for this year’s Royal Ascot Millinery Collective was that the chosen milliners should create a spectacular piece that invoked memories of dream-like couture pieces of a bygone era heralding a return to the British Summer season of occasions in what is Her Majesty The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee year.
Milliners involved in the 2022 Collective included: Philip Treacy OBE, Stephen Jones OBE, Edwina Ibbotson, Vivien Sheriff, John Boyd, Sarah Cant, Victoria Grant, Justine Bradley-Hill, William Chambers, Lisa Tan, Jessica Collins and Maggie Mowbray.
Ascot worked with world-renowned photographer and fashion director Damian Foxe to capture the hats in a timeless and beautiful way. The Collective was showcased in the Rosewood London, where its palatial staircases and corridors provided a timeless backdrop to the beautiful pieces, creating photographs that have a contemporary yet classically elegant feel.
Racing stylist Sarah Kate Byrne styled the millinery perfectly from a curated selection of fashion from Fenwick, adding pre-loved pieces also available from their new in-store collection. From brands such as vintage Dolce & Gabbana and Emilia Wickstead, to Olivia Rubin and Pleats Please, there is plenty of texture and colour to inspire racegoers this year.
As well as styling classic occasion wear looks, Sarah Kate demonstrated how to have fun and showcase your individual style. From styling a dress back to front, for a chic buttoned-up-the-back look, to using a waist tie as a neck scarf to complete a look in an alternative way, these small touches show how one garment can be styled in multiple ways to offer a different look.
The 12 looks comprise classic Royal Enclosure styles alongside ideas for dressing for the Queen Anne Enclosure and Village Enclosure where the dress code varies, as well as inspiration for the Windsor Enclosure where, despite no official dress code, racegoers are still encouraged to dress for a formal occasion.
Innovative millinery is the crowning accessory to the Royal Meeting each year and the Royal Ascot Millinery Collective, now in its seventh year, celebrates the truly spectacular ‘wearable art’.
Felicity Barnard, Commercial Director, Ascot Racecourse, said: “The millinery and fashion found in this year’s Millinery Collective demonstrates the anticipation and excitement people have for getting dressed up again and aligns with our new creative direction that celebrates innovation and individual style.
“While we will always be a heritage British occasion, we also encourage people to find the joy in formalwear and what better self-expression than a truly magnificent piece of millinery that can be treasured for years to come.”
ROYAL ASCOT FASHION DESIGN COMPETITION 202
Following the launch of this competition in 2021, Ascot Racecourse once again invited local secondary school students to submit their designs for an outfit that could be worn to the Queen Anne Enclosure during Royal Ascot.
The winning design was brought to life by Ellie Lines, a British luxury dress designer based in London while milliner Jess Collett beautifully handcrafted the hat from her Notting Hill studio.
Ascot has collaborated with Samsung, the racecourse’s TV provider, who has donated a Samsung Flip 2 digital flipchart to the winning school which encourages interactivity and nurtures design talent within a school environment.
Holly Harrand, 15, from The Marist School in Ascot was announced this year’s winner – congratulations!
Karen can usually be found glued to her computer or at the stables. Having edited several national magazines she co-founded Eclipse Magazine in 2008 after realising that many of her friends were nervous about going racing due to lack of information – what to wear, how to bet etc.
She absolutely loves her job (how many people can say that?!) and is truly grateful to all supporters of and contributors to Eclipse Magazine.
If you are reading this she would like to say THANK YOU! (And please spread the word about Eclipse…!!)
