General News
26 June, 2024
Fashion winners to represent the region in Brisbane final
Fashions From Afar will take place at Eagle Farm on Saturday.
Four stylish Mount Isa residents are off to the city to represent the region in a Fashions on the Field final full of people from country Queensland.
Renee Moore, Krystal O’Sullivan, Andric Lu and Bart Logan will compete in Fashions From Afar, a Queensland Racing initiative to promote the social scene that comes with the state’s iconic bush race meets.
One heat was staged on Mount Isa Cup day, while another was held virtually when Cloncurry’s scheduled meeting had to be called off due to rain.
The fashions event will coincide with the Battle of the Bush race at Eagle Farm on the same day where two North West horses will compete in a $200,000 race.
Unfortunately for Ms Moore and the other three contestants, Fashions From Afar is not quite as lucrative.
The winner will receive $2500 – about the same as it would cost to get to Brisbane and back from Mount Isa.
“It’s the same prizemoney for both men and women, but I’m probably still a little bit in front,” Ms Moore said with a smile.
“Last year the Cloncurry & District Race Club held heats and a final and I was lucky enough to win and picked up $10,000.
“This year’s virtual fashions was worth $2000, too.”
However, being competitive in fashions on the field can come at a big cost.
While many wear clothes bought off the rack and mix and match accessories, Ms Moore goes to the effort of having custom-made dresses and millinery to match.
“It’s not cheap to get into if you want to stand out,” she said.
“You can’t buy material here in Mount Isa so you need to plan ahead and then work with local dressmakers. One outfit can cost up to $2000 quite easily.”
The acting deputy principal at Mount Isa School of the Air said she enjoyed being able to show her personality through fashion.
“It is about uniqueness and flair and style,” she told North West Weekly.
“I’ve been competing for about 15 years up here and I like to showcase originality as much as possible.”
Ms Moore said she would wear a similar outfit to the one that gave her entry to Fashions From Afar and expected the North West to give the rest of Queensland a run for its money on Saturday.
“I think we’ve got a very good chance in both the male and female sections,” she said.
