This is year I was lucky to make my long term dream come true and travel to Africa. I was there in the beginning of July. This is time when the signature race on the African continent, the Durban July Cup, is traditionally held. Of course, I cannot miss this opportunity and planned my trip so I would arrive at one of Durban hotels in close proximity to Greyville Racecourse on the first Saturday of July.
The race has a long history and it has been taking place during the first weekend of July since 1897. Over time it has become a big fashion and social event for people of all ages. Great attention is paid to what you are wearing. It seems to me, what you are wearing on race day is even more important than which horse will cross the finish first!
When I finally passed the Greyville entrance gate on Saturday morning I did not know which way to look:
Some racegoers’ outfits reminded me of the Brazilian Carnival. Some looked like aliens that had arrived straight off the movie set of “The Fifth Element”.
Some racegoers liked to use all the colours of the rainbow for their outfits
and some stuck to monochrome (well, nearly monochrome):
Gentlemen outfits were striking as well:
Each year a fashion contest has a new theme. This year the theme was the African Star. To me, the whole Durban Cup was like a star on a Christmas tree, glittering and shining under the hot African sun.
A warning for Fashion on the Field lovers, you need to come early, judgment for the fashion contents begins from 9.00 am and the preliminary heats were all over by 10.30-11.00 am.
If you are a fan of race fashion contests, you will feel like you are in a race fashion paradise, there were lots of different fashion contests held during the Cup Day.
There were four major competitions open to everyone: Best Dressed, Best Millinery, Best Dressed Gentleman and Best Dressed Couple. On top of all this, there was the People’s Choice award which is left up to the public to decide, but if you are finalist of one of the four major categories, you are not allowed to participate in the People’s Choice.
However, these events are only some of the contests on the day. In addition to the public FOTF, there are numerous other fashion contests: Emerging Designer, Professional Designer….Something Else Designer…, sorry, at some point I just lost count of all the fashion contests!
I was lucky to make a final in the millinery category and I will share with you what to expect if you are a finalist. So, if you are lucky to make the final of any of the public contests you will be invited to wait for a final judgment in a special area near the stage.
The stage is located in the centre of the race oval and it is there I spent nearly the whole day. For each final, 15 contestants are picked out from all the heats and from my point of view it was really hard work for judges. There were large numbers of contestants who decided to try their luck and standards were really high. Of course you have heard the phrase about ‘the high standards’ before. In my opinion, this phrase is used excessively. You know, nearly every FOTF winner announcement is started with a comment on the high standards! However, the genuinely high standards made this comment true at the Durban Cup!
However, I should say that the environment was very relaxing. You know, the bar is set very high in Australian FOTF. I have been literally so close to a nervous break down at major Australian Cup events, worrying if my hair was done immaculately, if my make-up was flawless and if I managed to iron that last crease out of my dress, or if it was still there! Even if fashion standards were very high at the Durban Cup, people seemed to come to participate purely for the sake of fashion, partying and just having fun.
Glossy magazines and big brands do not dictate (yet!) their rules of what to wear to the Cup. Thank goodness for that! Furthermore, it seems here that any race wear rules go straight out the window: clutch or no clutch,
mini, midi and maxi,
Midi
and why not use a shield as a hat:
Organisers provide a theme for FOTF, but this is all. You interpret the theme in whatever way comes to mind. There was no doubt about it, originality was everything.
But back to our fashion.
The final picks of the Best Dressed Lady and the Best Millinery start parading on stage from about 12.00 pm
Followed by the Best Gentleman and the Best Couple
Followed by the Emerging Designer:
Followed by the Professional Designer:
Followed by huge party at the end of the racing day:
Even it is common to have a dance parties at big race days, the Durban Cup has distinctive difference – it seems everyone was dancing. I even spotted a cleaning guy dancing on his way while picking up rubbish.
I have to say, dancing is much loved in Africa. Wandering along Durban streets you should prepare to see dancing bands: professional, semi-professional and non-professional, everywhere.
Often, professional dancers start their performance and the public, after a while, just join in
What else from my Cup memories? Even before I began to plan my African trip, I had heard about the Durban Cup and I knew what to expect. I wanted to write a blog about it and I planned to call it ‘With Eyes Opened Wide’. Guess what? At the Cup day when I was thinking about betting, I noticed that there was a horse with the exactly same name running the Durban Cup. Of course I decided it was an omen and bet on it. Of course the poor bugger did not even make the top ten (lol).
What else can you see in Africa apart from FOTF? –
– Perhaps, you would like to see local shops and stalls which blast with colours:
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– And of course on your African journey you cannot miss Victoria Falls with its everlasting rainbows. And if there is less mist you will be able to take better photos than mine!
– And of course you will participate in one of those photo safaris:
And if you are not lucky to see all animals from the famous ‘Big Five’ you can always have one of these on your desk to remind you of your African adventure:
And if you are not lucky to see all animals from the famous ‘Big Five’ you can always have one of these on your desk to remind you of your African adventure: