HEAD MISTRESS

Master milliner KIM FLETCHER's creations are the de rigueur headgear at the annual Melbourne Cup and, as she tells MATHEW SCOTT, she's hoping to achieve similar popularity on this side of the Equator

PARIS HILTON’s LOSS seems to have been Luciano Pavarotti’s gain.

First, when the American attention-seeker was lured down to Australia for Melbourne’s famous Spring Carnival of horseracing in 2003, she was told to expect massive crowds – up to 100,000 on some days – and to expect lots of ladies wearing stunning hats.

Not one to ever be outdone, Hilton apparently sought out the help of Kim Fletcher, the milliner whose creations have dazzled the glitterati that gathers in Melbourne for the races each spring.

But Fletcher, for her part, was not impressed. “I just knew that Paris would be too much trouble,’’ says Fletcher. “I just said no to her people when they asked me.’’

Not so when it came to world’s most famous tenor. “He came out here for a fight against cancer fund-raising event set around the Melbourne Cup,” Fletcher explains. “And we made him one with diamonds in it. It was supposed to be auctioned but once he had it on his head, there was no way we were getting it off. He bought it himself – even though it was a lady’s hat. It really was an honour.’’

Fletcher was in Hong Kong recently to help promote the 150th edition of the Melbourne Cup, the main event during the annual Spring Carnival, and a race that this year falls on November 2.

The Carnival itself features almost three weeks of racing, which draws not only the best horses Down Under, but also increasingly visitors from around the world. This year, Hong Kong had Mr Medici down in Melbourne for the Caulfield Cup – it ran a creditable sixth – while visitors from the United Kingdom and Japan have become regular sights due to the millions on offer and, Fletcher is quick to point out, that glamour.

It all leads to the Melbourne Cup, held on the first Tuesday of each November and known as the world’s great staying race, as the horses compete over a gruelling 3,200 metres at the historic Flemington racecourse.

And when the PR gurus crow that it’s the “race that stops a nation,’’ for once there’s no spin. As well as around 100,000 at the track on the day, TVs in every pub, club and household around Australia tune in to the event. And the fashions have become almost important as the big event itself.

“There are ladies who save up all year,’’ says Fletcher. “It really is the main social event for so many people every year. There are around 20,000 hats sold every year and to see all the ladies at the track is an incredible sight.’’

Fletcher’s creations are also among the highlights – from the bold to the more subtle – and she says she works closely with her clients so their hats will match their chosen outfits as well as making a statement in themselves.

“Women love to dress up and hats give them something different, something unique. A day at the races for us is a day to dress up and always has been. You get out on a track and you have a great time – it’s a brilliant social event and I’ve heard it’s catching on in Hong Kong too.’’

Fletcher ’s hope is that Hong Kong’s big day, the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong International Races – which this year will be held on December 12 and will also attract the cream of international racing and the social scene that follows it fastidiously – will soon become a day noted for what happens off the track as well as on it.

“It’s starting to happen,’’ she says. “And once people start making an effort, you’ll be surprised how many will follow.’’

As it turns out, Fletcher’s career as Australia’s premier milliner happened more by chance than by design. “I wasn’t planning to be a milliner – ever,’’ she says. “I was a paymaster for a truck firm, to be honest. But my husband had always owned horses. When my daughter was born in 1990, I struggled with going back to work and then in 1993 I just saw an ad for a hat-making course and off I went. Hook, line and sinker.’’

She says it helped initially that she was able to get a feel for what worked – and what didn’t.

“My advantage was that I do love the races – I go all the time. I started in market stalls, each Sunday. From all these people coming through my stall I got an idea of what people wanted and I always wore my own hats to the races. People saw me around and began to ask questions. It all started from that.’’

And now Fletcher is hoping to see a few of her creations creep into the Hong Kong social scene – and, again, she believes it’s only a matter of time before they will.