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“I think nowadays, especially in this generation, there’s not a chance to get dressed up, like really dressed up,” says Alfeld, who works as a nanny in Christchurch. Her horse trainer parents introduced her to the racing world at a young age.
“I love fashion and I love putting the outfits together, and I guess it’s a way to express myself in my own style.”
Alfeld is one of numerous women and men who regularly enter best dressed competitions around New Zealand, as well as the prestigious Fashion in the Field at the Melbourne Cup in Australia. Besides the perk of creating a unique look and winning thousands of dollars in prizes (think overseas trips, $1000 gift cards, diamond necklaces, etc), it’s a chance to meet new fashion friends in a scene they say is surprisingly encouraging. While the field of entrants has been aging, in recent years, some newcomers, like Alfeld, have injected fresh life into the conservative world of best-dressed competitions.
“It is definitely its own very niche kind of fashion area,” says Carena West, 39, who has entered – and won – numerous competitions since 2012. She has moved on to judge events around the country.
Stephen Mwaba first started dressing up when his family put on their Sunday best for church.
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“[Competitors] can put together and style a really beautiful outfit. They get to parade it on a stage. And it’s also really cool. Like I’ve met some really amazing women through it,” she added.
Some of my closest friends have come through best-dressed competitions.
“When you get older, it gets a bit harder to meet new friends, and I think people come together because they’ve got a common interest and a common love for it as well, which I think is really cool.”
Stephen Mwaba is another one of those newcomers. The Zambian-born Christchurch resident is a regular entrant in the best-dressed competitions for men around the city. His interest in fashion came from his father and a very stylish uncle. Mwaba got his own taste for a good suit as a child when his family dressed in their best for Sunday church.
“I love it. It is fun. It is just part of me. I’m a truck driver, so I have to do something out of my comfort zone. Fashion is one of the things I love to do.”
So far, he has won the best-dressed man once at Addington and twice at Riccarton, the South Island’s top competitions. Mwaba recently returned from the Melbourne Cup, where he supported his sister Foster, who won the Best Dressed Digital category , securing a trip to Melbourne and a spot in the best dressed final. Foster, a self-taught dressmaker who is also from Christchurch, impressed the judges by combining three vintage dresses into one.
Foster Mwaba took inspiration from the vintage gowns she saw in photos at the rest home she works in.
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The creative process
Mwaba starts by researching the requirements of the competition he is planning to enter and what the judges might be looking for by studying the outfits of past winners.
“If it’s winter fashion, you need to figure out what type of colour suit will suit you in the winter.”
But ultimately, it comes down to the “energy” he will radiate from the suit. Sometimes the suits come from a notable store such as Ballantynes, or he might buy vintage. At Addington in 2021, it was a blue suit with a waistcoat and a flower tie that clinched him the victory. A checked grey suit with blue stripes made him the winner of Sergio’s Best Dressed Man in 2021. Accessories such as pocket squares, umbrellas, and of course a hat are all key to complete a look, says Mwaba.
Alfeld will spend days scrolling online for inspiration, circling around the ideas, fabrics, and colours that are in style. From there, she will often liaise with her dressmaker, Mikhal Robinson.
Danni Alfeld wears a dress created for her by Mikhal Robinson, a Christchurch-based dressmaker.
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“We come up with a style that would suit me off the pictures that I’ve seen online, but then I sort of make it my own, to my shape and my liking, really.”
Anna Campbell, 58, won her first sash about 15 years ago and has been hooked ever since. Like the Mwabas, the competitions are a family affair, with her daughter Eleanor Campbell winning best dressed at the Melbourne Cup’s Fashion on the Field in 2023.
“If you’re a creative person, it’s a great outlet to put the things together – the hat and the shoes and the bag,” says Campbell, a doggy day care owner who also owns a share in a racehorse.
“Back in the day, we used to have to try and find vintage bags on Trade Me, and it was all about the hunt, you know?”
How important is the hat?
Campbell has built up a large collection that she can pull on to mix and match for a new look. She has a room dedicated to her hats with many of them made by Monika Neuhauser, a milliner based in the Waikato.
About 70 percent of Neuhauser’s clients are serial entrants in best-dressed competitions. A custom piece can range from about $280 for a headband-style fascinator to more than $800 for a technical piece. It might take her a day to create something or many. Clients who can’t meet her in person with their outfit might send her a fabric sample so she can match or complement it in the hat piece.
A best dressed winner wears a hat from Monika Neuhauser, a milliner based in the Waikato.
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No matter how much is spent, it is never the hat alone that will win someone a sash, says Neuhauser.
“A good outfit can be let down by a bad hat, but also the best hat can’t win if the outfit is no good.”
What are the judges looking for?
West, the former entrant who is now a judge, says best dressed competitions in racing “are their own beast” when it comes to style. The premise of racing fashion is elevated day wear that often errs on the conservative side.
“Strapless usually isn’t really acceptable, you know. Wider shoulder straps are better.”
A major key to winning is developing a well-coordinated outfit where dress or suit, accessories, hats, and shoes all flow together.
“It’s more about the total look and you can kind of work with trends, but you don’t want to follow blindly because some things don’t really translate that well into race wear.”
New Zealanders tend to do well in Australia, where best-dressed competition is tough, because of their creativity, says West.
“[We] tend to get a bit more innovative with outfits and take a few little bit more risks, which is really cool to see.”
