The Cup,a princess and a rule-bending outfit

Thirty-five years ago,the Melbourne Cup was a vastly different affair to what we know today. The famed Birdcage was still a car park,where people would drive in their Range Rovers and picnic out of the boot (it would be another year before the firstcorporate marquee was erected). Businessman John Elliott,then the boss of Elders and Carlton&United Breweries,says in the early'80s,the event was"dying"as meets in Sydney began offering bigger prize money.

But all that would change in 1985,when Elliott and Foster's Lager would inject $1 million in sponsorship,and the Victoria Racing Club (VRC) would host Prince Charles and Diana,Princess of Wales.

As it happened,Charles and Di were in Melbourne for Victoria's 150th anniversary,as part of an extended tour that also took in the United States. And while the royalswowed crowds in 1983 by bringing nine-month-old Prince William along,there was no encore for Prince Harry,born in late 1984,and the heirs stayed behind this time.

From the moment they touched down at Tullamarine,the royals were mobbed everywhere they went,including St Paul's Cathedral for a Sunday church service and a stroll through the Botanical Gardens. On the evening of October 31,Charles and Diana showed off their dance moves at a charity ball,twirling around the dancefloor to Stevie Wonder'sIsn't She Lovely.

For the VRC,hosting the royal couple,who arrived by boat on the Maribyrnong River before taking a lap of the course in a Rolls Royce convertible,was one of its greatest coups. Still,the day was far from drama-free. Heavy rainfall on Cup Eve and a recorded top temperature of 23.9 degrees on Cup Day turned Flemington into a steamy mud bath,and a train strike kept crowds to around 77,000 – the lowest since 1965.

Amanda Elliott,the present-day VRC chair,was at the track that day;her father was then vice-chair of the racing club. She had previously met Diana through her first husband,who knew Prince Charles through polo. (She went on to marry John Elliott after that fateful day at the Melbourne Cup.)

"[Diana] was so nice and so young and so exquisitely beautiful,and really fun,"she says."She had a great sense of humour."

During their day at the track,Charles and Diana lunched in the 300-person committee room,and unveiled a plaque dedicating the renovated grandstand in the future king's honour. Despite the field including a horse named Rising Prince,Charles backed eventual runner-up Koiro Corrie May,while Diana tipped Under Oath,which finished in 20th place. But the palace placed a strict ban on any photos of the royals during the actual race,presumably to avoid any snaps of them making awkward facial expressions.

Amanda Elliott says she was"very much in the background"and didn't speak to Diana on Cup day in 1985."I was just one of those really well behaved people at the back of the room who was doing their best to respectfully see what she was wearing and enjoy the day."

Traditionally,the Melbourne Cup dress code favours bright colours but Diana opted for a black-and-white skirt suit by British designer Bruce Oldfield. The only nod to Australia was via her hat,which was made by royal milliner the late Freddy Fox,who was born in Urana,a small town in NSW. She finished the look with stockings embellished with small black bows and"sensible"black pumps.

Marketing consultant Shiva Singam,who was 12 at the time,was a fastidious follower of the princess'fashions,partly thanks to his subscription toRoyalty monthly magazine."I was very up to date with all her wardrobe choices,"says Singam,whose family emigrated from India to Melbourne in 1984."This was obviously the days before Google,when you actually had to read!"

He says 1985 was a turning point for Diana,who was shedding the girlish frills of her early royal years and transitioning to"her signature of having more linear,structured,stylish outfits,almost all by British designers".

After purchasing an entirely new wardrobe for a royal tour of Italy in April and May that year,Singam had high hopes for Diana's Melbourne outfits. Though he adored the turquoise one-shouldered gown Diana wore to the October 31 ball – paired with Queen Mary's emerald necklace across her forehead in lieu of a tiara,apparently because her neck was sunburnt – her Cup Day outfit left him a little"disappointed".

Lining up with other wellwishers along Swanston Street hoping to catch a glimpse of the royal motorcade en route to Flemington,Singam instantly recognised the suit from outings that June at Royal Ascot,and in Rome.

"She looked so chic and gorgeous but I had been anticipating something striking and not a repeat,"he says."In my opinion the first wearing of the outfit[in Rome] was far more memorable and glamorous."

Designer Prue Acton agreed with Singam's assessment,tellingThe Age on Cup Day that the princess should have dressed"with more fun in a new outfit". Acton also told Channel Seven"someone could have briefed her better to know that this is our most important day for fashion".

Reflecting on her comments from 35 years ago this week,Acton concedes she was"probably being a little critical that[the suit] didn't sit as well as it could have". Still,she says the overall"impression from a long distance was very strong".

Oldfield acknowledges that although the suit was"well received",the jacket had caused him some challenges."It was the mid-'80s and the time of very large[shoulder] pads and it was always a problem to fix them firmly into a garment,and these looked as if they had somehow slipped."

Throughout Diana's royal life,Oldfield made about 60 outfits for the princess,though many would not have been seen publicly and were"for her less formal life,going to concerts,attending school activities with her boys".

Oldfield recalls that Diana's"easy manner"allowed him and his business partner at the time,Anita Richardson,to"overstep the usual stiff formality when dealing with royal ladies".

"We were all on a steep learning curve,she as a Princess and we as a company entrusted with dressing a Princess,"he toldThe Age andThe Sydney Morning Herald."We all were quick learners and not too many mistakes were made."

Milliner Stephen Jones,who made some of Diana's iconic berets in the 1980s,says the Princess made very considered fashion choices."She loved learning about the messages that[clothes] would send,"Jones said via a Zoom call.

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As one of a group of emerging designers drafted to help craft the newly-married princess'image,Jones observed Diana building her knowledge of fashion,which included advice from the Queen herself."It was all the beginning of a whole new adventure ... She was having a honeymoon and the press was having a honeymoon ... Those were good times."

Oldfield agrees 1985 signalled a major shift for Diana's style."I’d like to think that we did have something to do with her growing into the icon she became."