Colour in, hats out at J&B Met

Cape Town’s Kenilworth Racecourse has been transformed into a colourful carnival as it hosts this year’s J&B Met.

Guests started arriving at about 11am – some strictly for the annual horse racing event while others have come to show off and admire the fashion.

With this year’s Made to Fly theme open to interpretation, punters and socialites are dressed in various styles. Chief among them is the omnipresent mullet style – dresses, skirts and tops in sheer materials with a high front and low back. There is also a lot of colour on the field, from sorbet and cotton candy to neons and pastels.

Hats, a staple of the race horse tradition, have been replaced by various styles of fascinators, but with most guests opting to go for neither option as the notorious Cape wind makes its presence felt.

With a few of the smaller races run, guests have been milling around waiting for the main race and for the high profile celebrities to make their picture-perfect entrances.

Ex-Expresso presenter Liezel van der Westhuizen (pictured) is doing her bit to promote Cape Town fashion by wearing a silver and granite mini dress with a flared train and rhinestones. “It’s from an upcoming designer. Her name is Jade Simkins, a first-year Fedisa fashion school student. My hat is also from an unknown called Black Cake.”

Socialite-businesswoman Uyanda Mbuli has opted for a heat-absorbing long-sleeved black dress. “It might be black, darling, but it’s Valentino black,” she cooed.

» For more J&B Met reports, see City Press on Sunday.