‘Racing is a risk’: Designers and retailers are taking a new approach to racewear

“Because the racing component [of our business] isn’t as large any more, we have grown business-wear, event and wedding wear – that’s probably our core business now,” she says. “And a lot of those pieces can cross over and be worn to both. As long as it doesn’t sparkle, you can wear it to the races.”

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Risk or reward

Speaking to key industry players, it’s clear the relationship between fashion and racing in 2023 is more complex than it was in 2019, when an ABC Four Corners episode, aired on the eve of the spring carnival, focused on allegations of cruelty against racehorses.

One senior PR executive, who spoke on condition of anonymity, says many models and creatives will no longer take racing-themed jobs. Some brands, such as Melbourne-based vegan shoe label TWOOBS, have actively boycotted racing. But far more have taken a subtler approach, by removing references to racing in their marketing or by declining to loan product to celebrities or influencers attending the track.

For high-street brands, the welfare debate surrounding racing, as well as the financial constraints on customers and concerns over sustainability are all reasons companies have pulled back on designs that are too racewear specific.

Carolyn McKenzie, managing director at Forever New, says the company now prefers a more holistic approach. Still, for those who are keen, there’s a “racing” tab on its website, and there are still headbands and “racing adjacent” designs. “We’ve moved away from ‘racing’ promotion to ‘event’ promotion,” McKenzie says. “Being too attached to racing is a risk.”

Michal Carrington, associate professor of marketing at the University of Melbourne, agrees brands need to weigh the risks of an attachment to racing from multiple perspectives – gambling, animal welfare, cost of living and sustainability – against the potential commercial gain.

“As a brand, it doesn’t mean you [shouldn’t] partner with those organisations that have concerns [around them],” she says. “But you also look to ensure [you’re contributing to] the betterment of this industry rather than being complicit.”

Of course, when it comes to racing, she says, there will be businesses that stay away because an association is “so incongruent” with their brand identity. “But there will be organisations that keep their toe in the water to see what the public sentiment is over time,” she says. “These things can be cyclical.”

‘We focus on what we do best’

Another brand treading softly in the racing space is menswear label MJ Bale. Founder and director Matt Jensen says he accepts that hundreds of thousands of people still attend the races, and they may all need something to wear. If anything, he’s taking a sustainability focused approach to races dressing, by encouraging men – especially those not bound by members’ dress regulations – to embrace “hybrid” dressing, blending casual and formal.

In general admission, this could mean a knitted polo with a pair of chinos. The idea, of course, being that the purchases have uses well beyond race day.

“It’s important to be relevant to what our customer is actually doing,” he says. “It’s important to communicate it clearly. Whether you have a view one way or another on racing, what we’re trying to do is talk about the occasion … that’s formal or informal, work or play.”

At the luxury end of fashion, retailers can’t afford to be one-eyed about racing and pieces need to have multiple uses, says Joshua Penn, who, together with Jackie Yencken, co-owns Belinda International.

Penn says he buys stock for the Sydney and Melbourne boutiques from brands including Victoria Beckham and Oscar de la Renta with the races in mind, but doesn’t market it too heavily, mainly for sustainability reasons. “I don’t want [Belinda] to be known as somewhere you just go for one specific dress that you wear once,” he says.

He acknowledges the need to respect different clients’ views and the cultural pulse. “A lot of our clients don’t love the idea of horses being [bred for racing] but I don’t think it is bad to celebrate togetherness, especially at times like these,” he says.

“It’s hard in these political times to take a side, and as much as you sometimes want to take a stand you have to be conscious that you have a business … We just focus on what we do best.”

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