The £33m fashion power of Ascot
The opulent millinery and fabulous frocks gracing Royal Ascot have meant booming fashion sales, finds Bethan Holt
Ever since Beau Brummell decreed that men attending Royal Ascot “should wear waisted black coats and white cravats with pantaloons” and an anonymous poet wrote that “Ladies’ Day [is] when the women, like angels, look sweetly divine”, the particulars of the race meeting’s dress code have thrilled, fascinated and perplexed in equal measure. Two hundred years since Royal Ascot as we know it was established, it has the power to send us on shopping sprees like never before.
“In a really tough retail climate, this has been such a boom time for us – it’s the best year we’ve ever had on hats and occasionwear,” Mia Fenwick, brand and marketing director at Fenwick, tells me. Men’s outfitter Oliver Brown has taken £1million in Ascot spending in the past month.
For milliners, dressmakers and boutiques across the country, Royal Ascot week is the final furlong in a race which for many began in January and can go on right up until the final day on Saturday. “One year, I had a client who made a lastminute order for every day of the week,” remembers Lisa Redman, a designer who specialises in bespoke made-to-measure pieces, wincing as she recalls sleepless nights and early-morning train journeys to deliver each finished outfit in time.
“Ascot is one of the major events of the year for me, orders really reach fever pitch,” adds Redman, who charges between £3,000 and £5,000 for an Ascot outfit. “My clients might be going for business networking or because it’s a crucial date on the calendar for their social set, but either way they see it as a moment when they can really justify spending on something new and often a little bit out of their comfort zone. This year, I’ve made some really bright silk jacquard skirts and chiffon capes.”
Research conducted by Deloitte on behalf of Royal Ascot in 2014 estimated that racegoers spent £33million on their finery and beauty preparation. “One famous department store told me that without Royal Ascot, they wouldn’t have a millinery department,” confides Juliet Slot, commercial director of Ascot racecourse. “One of the first things people say when they know they’re attending is ‘what will I wear?’”
The dress code is where the magic and mystery of Royal Ascot style lies, particularly if you’re going to the Royal or Queen Anne enclosures. Of course, it has evolved a lot, but each year’s dress code is an artfully balanced play-off between what feels “appropriate” but also fashion-forward.
After consulting with fashion insiders, the racecourse admitted full-length jumpsuits in 2017, but the Bardot neckline, beloved of the Duchess of Sussex, failed to pass the respectability test for 2018. “To be really clear, we’ve adjusted our definitions so that off-the-shoulder, Bardot style and one-shoulder straps are now not permitted, just as halternecks, spaghetti tops and strapless styles were already,” Slot told
The Daily Telegraph earlier this year. “There aren’t many rules when it comes to dressing any more, I think people quite like an occasion where they do have to abide by a code,” says Fenwick. “The royal wedding really threw light on the nuances of British etiquette, which you see with Ascot. People want to dress elegantly and correctly.”
The trick is to do it with a flair that respects the code – hats must be four inches in diameter and shoulder straps must be one inch or wider – but celebrates the fashion peacockery encouraged more heartily than ever over the past few years; a hat that feels OTT in the changing room will fit in beautifully once you arrive. With 13,500 attendees each day in the Royal Enclosure, it’s only natural that we would go to great lengths – and expense – to find something unique.
“We can easily sell a £2,000 Philip Treacy hat these days,” notes Fenwick. “It used to be that people put it off or tried to borrow a hat instead, but I think increasingly we have a hat wardrobe.” As well as a double-digit rise in hat revenue, Fenwick has seen a 22per cent increase in sales from personal shopping appointments.
“I’ve been making Ascot dresses for 12 years and there’s definitely been an evolution in that time; it’s become more modern, more creative and more individual,” observes Suzannah Crabb, whose demurely elegant dresses are worn by the likes of Sophie, Countess of Wessex.
Royal presence is an alluring factor. After the Duchess of Cambridge wore Alexander Mcqueen last year, searches for similar styles were up 63per cent, according to fashion search engine Lyst, with a 32per cent uplift after she chose a similar Temperley look in 2016.
It’s not just shoppers who are mesmerised. This year, Italian labels Dolce & Gabbana and Max Mara have got in on the Royal Ascot act with exclusive collections. At Dolce’s Bond Street store, a selection of fabulously bonkers floral millinery akin to the styles loved by the Queen in the Sixties is available while Max Mara teamed up with Fenwick to make a vibrant statement with prints by Richard Saja.
The fashion effect lasts long after the final race has been run. Milliner Awon Golding, who has created 10 bespoke hats this year, says that she always sees an uptick in sales after her hats have been noticed. “Everyone is talking about it and looking at the pictures afterwards which is wonderful when you’re a niche market.” Beau Brummell would surely be proud.