The horses and jockeys are waiting for the starting gun at tomorrow's Melbourne Cup but the celebrities have been getting in early as the fashion field jostle for the best run.
Celebrities have been flocking to Australia for the glamour race and many have already hit the Flemington course as the spring racing carnival reaches its zenith.
Burlesque performer Dita Von Teese has been adding some colour and style with a series of glamorous outfits, while Sex and the City's Sarah Jessica Park and reality TV stars Kim and Khloe Kardashian were expected trackside, Qantas flights permitting.
Liz Hurley and her fiance, Australian cricketer Shane Warne, are in town and expected to join the long list of stars tomorrow.
Models Jennifer Hawkins, Anthea Crebbin, Rebecca Judd, and social superstar Brynne Edelsten have already been seen on course, where the marquees for the royalty of popular culture are going to be more extravagant than before.
Mumm champagne brand manager Julien Marteau said: "It's all about people who excel at what they do, not celebrities for the sake of it."
Aerial ballet artist Leanne Kelly, known as "L'Ange de Mumm" or angel, will be suspended from the ceiling.
In "Millionaire's Row", the Emirates marquee is styled on St Petersburg's Catherine Palace with the Zhivago restaurant and powder room for ladies, and a Jo Malone perfume stylist demonstrating how to "accessorise" with 23 fragrances.
Myer's "Butterfly House" features fluttering laser-cut butterflies, to show off the "social butterflies".
At Swisse, stylish J'Aton designers Jacob Luppino and Anthony Pittorino designed a day-spa theme with sculpted horses dangling from the ceiling. Being a vitamin company, there are healthy cocktails with ginseng and spirulina but for those who end up tired and emotional from the bubbly, a gift on departure is Liver Detox tablets.
Lexus ambassador Jamie Durie created a "vertical garden installation" in the three-level marquee and VIPs won't have to endure a squishy train because they'll be chauffeured to and from the track.
Article source: www.stuff.co.nz
