FASHION FAMILY
CAREFUL planning bore fruit for the local-born winner of the Cairns Cup Carnival Fashions on the Field competition, who faced fierce opposition from southern invaders.
Carnival ambassador and fashion judge Millicent van der Velde said she worked hard to attract entrants to the contest from outside the Far North.
“Leading up to the carnival, my aim was to make it an event that people would actually travel to,” she said.
“We wanted to sell it to the southern states, and I was really excited to see people from down south making an effort to come up north.”
Melissa Kello from Kanimbla won the Lady of the Day sash in the Cairns Cup Carnival day two Fashions on the Field, competing against about 40 other ladies in their finery.
The fashions were winterthemed, but Ms Kello had to work to strike a balance between the demands of the competition and the tropical feel of the Far North, going with a red and black tartan dress with puffed ’80s sleeves.
A riskier element of the ensemble was her black leather satchel.
“It was a make-or-break move going with a bum-bag, but fortunately I got through and it added a real twist to it,” she said.
“I’ve been doing Fashions on the Field on and off for quite a few years, but probably only just started taking it seriously and researching trends more recently.”
Gracyn Jackson was first runner-up and Renee Zorko was second runner-up, competing with her partner Beau, who came first in the Best Menswear category.
Ms van der Velde said the standard was high compared to last year, making it tough for the judges.
“Last week was a colder day so the entrants stuck closer to the winter theme, but this time we saw looser materials, and brighter colours,” she said.
“The top entries, we were looking for outfits polished from head to toe – a bit of pattern matching, colour matching was good.
“As you can see, the top three were all quite different from each other, but they all wore their outfits to perfection.”