In a progressive shift for Cheltenham Festival, Style Wednesday – previously known as Ladies Day – has become a celebration of slow fashion, shining a spotlight on pre-loved and vintage clothing.
FAST HORSES, SLOW FASHION
Welcoming over 200,000 spectators this year, Cheltenham Festival, which took place between Tuesday 11th and Friday 14th March 2025, is recognised as one of the UK’s biggest annual horse racing showcases.
Renowned for its world-class courses and high attendance, the much-loved event has also gained a reputation as one of the most anticipated high fashion occasions in the country’s equestrian calendar.
The festival’s second day, previously known as Ladies Day, has long been heralded as a celebration of women’s race day style, with royals, celebrities, and other attendees commended for their most daring, imaginative, and often expensive looks.
Last year, however, Ladies Day underwent a significant rebrand.
Re-named Style Wednesday by the festival’s official organisers, The Jockey Club, Ladies Day is now touted as an overall more sustainable and inclusive affair.
The progressive shift that celebrates slow fashion – upcycled and vintage pieces – is hoped to redefine how style is perceived at the festival, cultivating a more thoughtful and sustainable relationship with clothing.
THE SLOW FASHION AWARDS
Despite its recent rebrand, Style Wednesday remains a celebration of glamour and glory at Cheltenham Festival and continues to take place alongside the BetMGM Queen Mother Champion Chase on the racetrack.
This year, in keeping with the festival being a family tradition for many, The Jockey Club chose to home in on timeless, vintage fashion as a focal point, particularly clothing that has been passed down through generations.
To honour these pre-loved pieces, the Slow Fashion Awards at this year’s event celebrated borrowed items as well as investment pieces that were purchased specially for the festival but can be reused for years to come.
The day two style competition opened at 10:30am and lasted until 2:30pm and saw participants don their outfits before having their photo taken in The Plaza.
This year’s judges, which included ex-model and presenter Rosie Tapner and Vanity Fair royal correspondent Katie Nicholl, decided on a winner and two runners-up.
Stylish spectators Cordilia Chugg, Stephen Grogan, and Juspith Beckett were crowned this year’s slow fashion champions, with the inclusion of a male winner demonstrating the festival’s refreshed perspective on inclusivity.
DRESS TO FEEL YOUR BEST
Former Chief Executive of The Jockey Club, Nevin Truesdale, who played a major role in ushering in the changes to Ladies Day, is proud of the updated Style Wednesday model and sees it as a major win for the festival.
Speaking with the media, he reflected on how spectators re-wearing outfits already in their wardrobes not only allows them to showcase their unique and personal style but share the stories and histories behind their garments – especially where vintage or heirloom items are concerned.
Meanwhile, Truesdale explains how by no longer placing high expectations upon attendees and what they should wear, he hopes that a culture of inclusivity can be created.
This feeds into The Jockey Club’s ‘dress to feel your best’ mentality in 2025, which encourages spectators to choose their outfits with comfort and confidence in mind, wearing what feels right and recognising individual preferences.
As such, through these updates, Cheltenham Festival has begun to acknowledge how an enforced race day dress code, despite being ‘the done thing’ for many years, had quickly become outdated in the eyes of many attendees in the 21st century.
In addition, dressing for comfort and confidence aligns more closely with the festival’s renewed mantra, which seeks to promote the races as an event to be enjoyed by anyone and everyone.
Of course, none of this is designed to discourage those who enjoy dressing to impress – it is simply intended to widen the pool of what is deemed ‘acceptable’ to wear at the races going forwards.
