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September 24, 2011IT was high-street fashion minus the blowout budget for the winner of the Sydney Spring Carnival fashion competition at Rosehill on Saturday.
Angela Menz's winning outfit cost her under $400 and was completely handmade.
Menz's jewel-studded headpiece towered above her peers as she wowed the judges in a voluminous lime green skirt and purple blouse.
She said her outfit was inspired by this season's trend for luminant, uniform colours.
"Colour blocking is a huge trend so I wanted to work with that," Ms Menz said.
She spent several late nights designing and sewing the eye-catching pieces.
"I couldn't find the right colour material for my skirt so I decided to dye them myself," Ms Menz said.
"There were some long evenings mixing up dyes and letting it bubble away on the stove.
The former fashion design student is no stranger to the racetrack catwalk.
"I'm into triple figures for my fashions on the field," Ms Menz said.
Her dedication finally paid off when the judges awarded her a nine-day trip to this year's Melbourne Cup.
Myer Mad about the Hat Day ambassador Kate Waterhouse said the judges were awarding points for use of colour and the appeal of the finished product.
"Today we're seeing a lot of spring trends which is all about colour and colour blocking," Ms Waterhouse said.
"It's great to see the runway fashions have transcended into race wear."
Ms Waterhouse said Ms Menz's sculptural teardrop headpiece was the highlight of her outfit.
"It looks like it's tailor-made, she's very talented and deserves extra points," Ms Waterhouse said.
Underbelly star Firass Dirani made his debut as a fashion judge and said that, although he wasn't traditionally a fan of clashing colours, today's entrants were working the bright shades.
"I've always thought pink and red should never be seen ... but I've seen some people wearing it and it's working," Dirani said.
"But you've got to ask: is it burning your eyeballs or not?"
