Our 2023 Grand Finalists are...

It’s been an exciting season for clubs, sponsors and fashionistas alike who, following the restrictions brought on by COVID-19 in the preceding seasons, have finally been able to embrace returning to the racetrack to dazzle the crowds and judges once again in runway-based fashions in the field competitions.

This year however, due to the Ellerslie track upgrade, the decision was made to hold The Ned Prix de Fashion national fashions in the field final virtually one final time.

This years competition line-up featured 11 regional finalists from around the country who had each won a qualifying competition held at racedays over spring / summer. These qualifying competitions were held as far south as Invercargill and as far north as Auckland.

For 2023, we also created an ‘opening round’ where women from around New Zealand had one last chance to submit a digital entry in the hopes of scoring one of the final four ‘wild card’ spots that was up for grabs in the national final. These four ‘wild card’ finalists then joined the line-up of 11 pre-qualified regional finalists.

Our panel of seven judges from New Zealand and Australia then had the unenviable task of narrowing the field down to five grand finalists.

The Grand Finalists

Today we are pleased to announce who those Grand Finalists are (listed in alphabetical order by last name):

• Sara Allpress – Winner on Livamol Classic Day, run by Hawke’s Bay Racing Club
• Sasha Boyens – Wild card from the ‘Opening Round’ competition, run by Auckland Thoroughbred Racing
• Gemma Kirk – Winner on New Zealand Cup Day at Riccarton Park, run by Canterbury Jockey Club
• Deborah Lambie – Wild card from the ‘Opening Round’ competition, run by Auckland Thoroughbred Racing
• Lily Simons – Winner on ATR Derby Day held at Te Rapa Racecourse, run by Waikato Racing Club

Each of these five women remain in the running to be named ‘Supreme Winner’ and take home the winner-takes-all $20,000 prize package from The Ned and Victoria Racing Club – plus the coveted title of being New Zealand racewear’s national titleholder for the 2022/23 season.

Our sincere thanks to our judges for freely providing us their time and expertise:

• Jill Humphries (AUS/NZ) – Award-winning Kiwi milliner now based in Melbourne
• Crystal Kimber-Peters (AUS) – ​Victoria Racing Club (VRC) Ambassador
• Viera Macikova (AUS) – VRC’s 2021 Fashions On Your Front Lawn National Final Winner
• Hannah Marinkovich (NZ) – ARC ambassador and NZ’s 2017 Prix de Fashion National Final winner
• Sarah Stuart – Celebrity stylist and make-up artist
• Carena West (NZ) – ARC ambassador & VRC’s 2019 Myer Fashions on the Field National Final winner
• Aleisha Mitchell (NZ) – NZ’s 2019 The Ned Prix de Fashion National Final Winner

And a heartfelt congratulations to all the regional finalists – the judges commented on how high the standard was and how much they agonised over their selections.