BRYONY Bourke spent her teenage years dancing in flowing ballet dresses, the chiffon trailing lightly behind her.
To be creative was simply what she knew - and she wanted to make a living from it.
"When I realised dance was not a viable [career] path for me, I turned completely to art immediately," Mrs Bourke said.
The English-born creative studied design at university before moving into the world of costume.
Now, Mrs Bourke spends her days designing greeting cards under her brand 'Hello Margot', and sewing intricate frocks worthy of the Melbourne Cup grandstand.
She has been selected as a finalist for the year's 'best dressed' category in Fashions on the Field's contest after entering their digital applications.
The awarded fit - tailored pants and a cinched waist coast - was made using a vintage pattern, an ode perhaps to the first 1800s-inspired dress she stitched at university.
Now Mayfield-based, Mrs Bourke searches widely for the right fabric and fits. Making outfits that fit her personality is a "huge thing", especially given she models each piece herself.
"Once I found [the] material, I knew it was the start of something," she said about the cream fabric with gold highlights in the outline of tulips.
The material's reverse side, a pale blue, was used to create accents.
"It came together just like I imagined," Mrs Bourke said.
Being a finalist in such a prestigious competition against "seasoned professionals" was a pinch-me moment for the designer, who has only been stitching since 2019.
"I'm not a newby necessarily, but I'm not a seasoned pro. Some of the [competitors] are very seasoned," she said.
Fashions on the Field began in 1982 at Flemington Racecourse and has been an important part of the racing calendar since. Mrs Bourke has travelled to places like Cairns, the Gold Coast, the Hawkesbury and Gosford with the competition.
She will fly to Melbourne on Monday before winners are announced on Thursday. Large prizes, including a Lexus, are on offer.
"It's all a bit crazy," Mrs Bourke said. "I just entered it thinking I had nothing to lose and then I got a call.
"It was one of those scenarios where you just don't think it will be you."
The intricate, vintage pieces a far cry from what the life of a former fitter for film and television.
But when Mrs Bourke met her Australian husband on a Christmas Eve in Germany, she knew life would change.
"I met him and you could say either he go in the way or is was serendipity," she said.
Her husband is in the Royal Australia Air Force and based in Williamtown, so Mrs Bourke could "hardly run off to Melbourne or Sydney for a [costume job]". She had found the work technical and an impingement on creatively anyway.
"I was always one for dabbling. I never sort of stuck to one thing," she said.
