Melbourne Cup Carnival Fashions Competition
The Victoria Racing Club (VRC) is delighted to announce 32 year old Elisha Song from Chengdu as the inaugural winner of the Melbourne Cup Carnival Fashions Competition presented by Myer, held in Beijing, China. The World Loves Melbourne is excited by the Melbourne Cup Carnival fashios this year. Spring is a magical time in Melbourn eand fashion is in the air!
Crown Ambassador and Chinese tennis superstar Li Na, one of the internationally renowned judges of the national competition, named Ms Song as the winner of the style stakes. Li Na is a tennis favourite of The World Loves Melbourne and we love the style and glamour of this competition.
Ms Song caught the judges’ eyes in a stunning black mesh dress with bamboo and floral embroidery by Chinese-born designer Vivienne Tam. She paired the winning ensemble with a black top hat inspired millinery she won at a charity event, black patent leather shoes and a black clutch.
Along with a trip of a lifetime to the 2016 Melbourne Cup Carnival, Ms Song will now be fast-tracked to the Myer Fashions on the Field Preliminary Finals on Emirates Melbourne Cup Day, with the hope of making it to the National Final on Crown Oaks Day.
The winner, Ms Song, with Crown Ambassador Li Na in Beijing.
Surprised by the win, Ms Song was extremely excited to be attending Melbourne Cup Carnival to represent China in Australia’s largest outdoor fashion event.
“I’m so excited to be coming to Melbourne to represent China at Myer Fashions on the Field and to be part of Emirates Melbourne Cup Day. It sounds like a very prestigious event. I still can’t believe I have won.
“I’ve never been to Melbourne but have always wanted to go. Thank you to the VRC and to its sponsors Emirates, Crown Hotels and Myer for giving me this opportunity, this is such an honour for me,” said Ms Song.
First runner-up was Alyssa Jiang (26 years old) from Shanghai who was wearing a sleek black and charcoal top and skirt ensemble with feather detail. Second runner-up Ming Fang (32 years old) from Beijing was wearing a beautiful print dress in green and red, with millinery in similar tones and striking red earrings.
A huge success, the competitions have been the biggest tourism activation ever staged in China by a private Australian organisation with the VRC playing host to more than 1200 travel agents and contestants in Shanghai, Chengdu and Beijing.
Head of International Tourism, PR, Government and Community Lisa Patroni said with the support of our partners, the VRC is increasingly engaging with the world’s biggest inbound tourism market as part of its international strategy.
“The Melbourne Cup Carnival has seen exceptional growth from the Chinese market over the past three years, with Chinese visitation growing by 152 per cent over this time,” Ms Patroni said.
“We have had an extremely successful week in China. Each city has embraced racewear fashion and the quality of entrants has been exceptional.
“A special thank you to Crown Resorts and Hotels, and its Ambassador Li Na, for helping us bring the glamour and excitement of the Melbourne Cup Carnival to China. We hope we can continue to work together in the coming years to provide our travel agent partners with a taste of the world-class racing, fashion, entertainment and hospitality their clients can enjoy at the Melbourne Cup Carnival.”
Winner Ms Song from Chengdu will now represent China in Myer Fashions on Emirates Stakes Day.
Crown Hotels Senior Vice President Global Sales Kylie Burchmore said they are delighted to be partnering with the VRC on this exciting tourism activation in China.
“The Melbourne Cup Carnival is one of the most popular major events on the Melbourne calendar and at Crown we love bringing it to life and introducing our guests from China and all over the world to the glamour and excitement the event offers,” said Ms Burchmore.
“We were proud to showcase the Carnival in such a unique way to our key Chinese travel partners especially in conjunction with our Crown Ambassador Li Na, who has no doubt encouraged further visitation to Melbourne during the event itself and beyond.”
China is now Australia’s largest inbound market for visitor arrivals and the largest market for total expenditure and visitor nights.
Tourism Australia research indicates that 75 per cent of Chinese travellers look to time their holidays with major events.
The 2016 Melbourne Cup Carnival runs from 29 October to 5 November. Melbourne Cup Carnival tickets, reserved seating and hospitality packages can be purchased from www.flemington.com.au.
Pre-register for the Melbourne Cup Carnival’s Myer Fashions on the Field online at flemington.com.au/MyerFOTF