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By Rachel Sharp

Here's one way to guarantee you get noticed at the races

Crowns are out, hats are where it’s at. So say these 5 top Aussie designers who’ve created 10 one-of-a-kind brimmed masterpieces

Stash away your fascinator and shake off your floral crown. This Racing Season the humble brimmed hat is back with a high-style vengeance.

So say the designers behind five of Australia’s top fashion brands – By Johnny, Sass & Bide, White Suede, Bec & Bridge and Ginger & Smart – and to prove the point, they’ve each stamped their creative signature on a set of 10 one-off collector’s edition hats released for sale online today.

Using their choice of the universally flattering Panama hat or a trilby-look Akubra, handed to them by Australia’s oldest millinery store Strand Hatters in Sydney, each label created two edgy fashion hats on sale right now via The Iconic, which masterminded the collaboration.

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Just one of the collectors item pieces in the Strand Hatters x Australian Designer collection

“This Spring Carnival, we will definitely be seeing hats coming back in a big way,” says By Johnny designer, Johnny Schembri. “Hats are currently being re-interpreted with new materials and textures, like leather and different metals – they’re an elegant, easy way to create a statement style and add excitement to an outfit.”

Bec Cooper and Bridget Yorston, the design duo behind Bec & Bridge agree. “The classic head-dress sometimes doesn’t resonate for the next generation… So the hat is a modern interpretation of this old ritual and we personally love it. It’s still honouring the [racing headwear] tradition, but it’s refreshing to be able to make it more relevant and exciting.

“It gives woman a chance to show off her individuality and adds the perfect statement touch.”

With fashion experts predicting the return of a more classical look in the realm of race day trends, hats are a simple way to add a polished finish that’s very feminine, claim the duo behind Ginger & Smart, Genevieve and Alexandra Smart.

“We love a play on proportion, so an oversized hat with a textural slim-line dress or pant suit is a key look for us this season,” they said of the extra-wide brimmed black and white pieces they created for this project. Given their one-off status and the fact they’re hand-crafted, the price tag of $250 attached to each of these hats is a relative steal. Question is, how to pick just one?

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sass & bide x Strand Hatters Written in the Stars Hat, $250. SHOP NOW