Melbourne Cup 2015 is all about bright colours, fun frocks, crowns, dainty headbands and abstract hairpieces. This year, the fashion elements ruling the Melbourne Cup are lace dresses, neon dresses, jewel tones and hair sparkles.

It was the first time that the prestigious Australian horse race Melbourne Cup has been won by female jockey Michelle Payne and her New Zealand-bred horse, Prince of Penzance, BBC reports. She showed off her sartorial style in a navy shift dress with lace collar teamed with a white floral fascinator, which was a winner ensemble before the race began.

Australian foreign minister Julie Bishop upped the ante this year with her choice of hat, according to The Age. Earlier years, she had opted for straw fascinators but this time, Bishop wore an oversized fedora hat.

This year, the Derby Day witnessed men with floral shirts, blue suits and bold socks that were louder than the outfits of the women attending the race. Women kept it chic with abstract hair pieces.

Millie Mackintosh, the former “Made in Chelsea” star, had a stylist appointed for her stint on the Cup Day. The 26-year-old’s Melbourne-based stylist Lana Wilkinson styled her in a blue Dion Lee dress with laser cut detail. Her strappy dress showed off her slender frame, The Age reports.

Mackintosh paired her look with a silver clutch bag, matching rings and a pair of strappy high heel sandals. The main attraction of her look was a headpiece created by celebrity milliner Viktoria Novak which featured an intricate pattern of encrusted leafy embellishments. The star channelled Brigette Bardot with her bouffant and glittering bunny ears.

The Myer Fashions on the Field held during the Melbourne Cup in Flemington saw more than 200 fashionistas participating in the contest. Richmond-based Emily Hunter got the top prize wearing a navy dress her mother made for her the night before, Herald Sun reports.

“I couldn’t find a dress that did the hat justice, so my mum decided to make my dress on Sunday and finished it late last night,” said Hunter, who topped off her homemade haute couture with a bespoke leather and lace headpiece, New.com.au reports.

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