Creativity and community, the real win for Mellisa

When Mellisa Rigter entered Fashions on the Field at Flemington for the first time in March 2025, she had no idea what was ahead. Twelve months later, she has two titles to her name – Best Suited at Turnbull Stakes Day and now Best Dressed on Super Saturday – and a community she treasures. 

Her elated reaction when her name was called on Saturday said everything. And the outfit that earned it? Designed and made entirely by herself. 

Inspired by Vivienne Westwood – “with a touch of air hostess” – the dress was crafted from blue tartan, a nod to the late designer’s love of the style. Sewing the tartan presented its own challenges; matching the pattern was intricate work, and the stretch fabric required careful handling. But the result made it worth it. “I added the bows and ties to add something a bit extra,” she says. 

The hat, a vintage find from an op shop, was reblocked, reshaped, and remodelled by Mellisa, skills she developed when she took a millinery course in 2017 as a way to calm her mind, finding in the craft something that meditation simply hadn’t been able to give her. Feathers completed the look. 

The rest of the outfit was sourced with the same considered approach. The belts – one larger, one smaller, layered over each other – came from an op shop, as did her bag, gloves, shoes, and jewellery. “I love to be ethical, and I love to collect things,” she says. “I have a whole room of treasures.Choosing the final earrings proved the last great dilemma, eventually resolved with the help of an unlikely style consultant: her Uber driver, who acted as a last-minute accessory advisor on the way to the track (and received a tip for his troubles). 

Fashions on the Field has given Mellisa more than prizes. Working in mental health and having navigated her own difficult period, she has found in the competition a creative community who share her passion. It is, she says, exactly the kind of environment she needed to be part of. 

Horses, too, have always been close to her heart. She grew up on a farm where racehorses were rehomed and re-educated, and her father rode trackwork alongside the legendary Roy Higgins.  

“With my background and the work I do in mental health, it is important for me to have a hobby and a passion – and this is it for me,” she says. “I’ll be back in the spring!”