Rebecca Judd leads Glamour on the Grid red carpet overdrive

In an ever-growing sea of influencers, Bec Judd remains the original social media Queen B of Melbourne.

With the annual cross-pollination of sport, power, fashion and business in full throttle at the Australian Grand Prix’s Glamour on the Grid trackside party at Albert Park on Wednesday night, Judd went into red carpet overdrive in a custom creation by Melbourne’s big event maestros J’Aton. No one makes a serious fashion statement better than the striking Mrs Judd.

Glamour on the Grid, the most desirable ticket in town for the FOMO-riddled influencer set, brought the good and the great, as well as the unexpected, to pit lane to sip champagne and snack on shucked oysters and lobster rolls.

While the event has undergone a cull, with the guest list cut from 800 to 450 in an effort to elevate the experience for attendees and manage the influencers drawn like moths to the GP spotlight, it still managed to present an eclectic array of revellers.

Judd described herself as a rule follower, not breaker, and stuck close to the Glamour On The Grid theme of “precious metals”.

“I picked this dress up two hours ago,” she said of her slinky, elegant but elevated, heavily embellished J’Aton gown.

A serious F1 fan, Judd said she was drawn to the drama and excellence of the sport.

“The risk involved is pretty exhilarating,” she said.

Philanthropist Anastasia Kogan, who arrived with her husband, Ruslan, used silver insulated emergency blankets as the basis of her tinsel-like gown.

Kogan worked with artist Troy Emery on the unique, joyous creation.

“It’s hard to imagine that a basic safety material could be transformed into a full couture art gown, but this dress does exactly that,” Kogan said.

“It is seriously cool; a high-shine, wearable sculpture.

“I was heavily inspired by Paco Rabanne’s futuristic, non-textile designs, but I grounded the dress using Dior’s classic ‘New Look’ silhouette as the base.

“To finish it off, we wove the bodice using techniques inspired by Bottega Veneta.

“It’s the perfect mix of art, fashion history, and modern edge.”

One of the more extraordinary fashion statements of the evening came when Melbourne influencer Adelle Petropoulos made lemonade out of lemons and wore what was originally supposed to be her wedding dress to the F1 knees-up.

Petropoulos called off her wedding late last year, but her beaded, halter-neck Con Ilio gown with dramatic opera cape was already made.

“This is the gown that was supposed to go down the aisle, but that did not happen,” Petropoulos said.

“I wanted to make a positive out of a not so positive. I wanted to have a moment to inspire women to do the same.”

Nicole Piastri, mother of Australian F1 hero Oscar, was accompanied by her three daughters, Hattie, Mae and Edie and her partner Tim Fletcher.

Lara Worthington, model and wife of Avatar star Sam Worthington, was among the leaders of the fashion set. The Worthingtons are presumably motorsport fans as one of their sons is named Racer.

Hannah St John, the partner of Racing Bulls driver Liam Lawson, looked flawless after being pampered by the Josh Wood salon team at Melbourne’s Mecca emporium.

“I had such a great time last year. One of my friends came with me and, girls being girls, one of my favourite parts was just glamming,” the model said.

“I did my own hair and make-up last time and found my own dress, so I absolutely loved getting pampered at Mecca this year.

“There is no event like it. I also love the fashion here in Australia. It is a perfect night. It is the first race on the calendar for the year, so you might as well go all out.”

Tiffany Cromwell, partner of Cadillac driver Valtteri Bottas, was among the guests.

Chief executive Travis Auld, the boss of the Australian F1, was fittingly wearing Boss – a slick Hugo Boss black suit to be exact – while his wife, Megan O’Reilly, was in a Joteo gown.

Grand prix chairman Martin Pakula rubbed shoulders with Melbourne heavy hitters including power couple Eddie and Carla McGuire; former governor of Victoria Linda Dessau, who is on the Australian Grand Prix Corporation board; Lord Mayor Nick Reece; and Minister for Sport and Major Events Steve Dimopoulos.

Crown Resorts chief executive David Tsai was among the racy crowd along with Ed Domingo, boss of Crown Melbourne.

Sporting stars from codes other than motor racing were well represented.

Collingwood’s Josh Daicos was all style alongside his fiancee Annalise Dalins. Winter Olympian Cooper Woods was on track, fresh from his gold medal-winning performance in Italy, while fellow Winter Olympic medallist Scotty James attended with his wife, Chloe Stroll. Stroll’s brother Lance drives for the Aston Martin F1 team, which is controlled by her father, Lawrence.

Mecca owner Jo Horgan was spotted enjoying the social action as was F1 legend Sir Jackie Stewart. Philanthropist Amanda Smorgon stepped out with her partner, Luke Hepworth. Matt Gudinski, who last week had Ed Sheeran in Melbourne playing three huge shows at Marvel Stadium, bought a rock edge to the evening.

Former Victoria’s Secret model Duckie Thot struck a pose on the media wall – she knows her angles.

Melebrities Andy Lee and his fiancee, Rebecca Harding; Carrie Bickmore; Michelle Payne; Harry Garside; Max Gawn; and Isaac Quaynor moved through the crowd with ease.

Also spotted were ballerina Belle Urwin, and model Charlee Fraser.

Matildas superfan Anika Wells a no-show at Asian Cup

At some point this year, federal Communications and Sports Minister Anika Wells will have to show her face at a major sporting event, after spending the summer in the Labor Party’s witness protection program over her role in last year’s expenses saga.

Heading into last weekend, we were half expecting Wells to make her grand return to the circuit for the Matildas’ first game in the Women’s Asian Cup, which went ahead in Perth on Sunday. But Wells, a massive Tillies fan who decked out her office in team paraphernalia during the Women’s World Cup, was a surprising no-show.

When we reached Wells’ office on Wednesday to ask about her absence at the weekend, we were told there was simply no way the minister would be able to get to the game and be back in time for parliament’s return on Monday. And fair enough! It’s a more than a 10-hour return trip, after all.

But what about Thursday night’s game, when the Matildas take on Iran on the Gold Coast, in Wells’ home state? Suffice to say the minister’s office grew tired of the line of inquiry – and that’s before we could even get to ask about the Melbourne grand prix set for this weekend.

Wells’ ongoing absence from the nation’s biggest summer sporting events has been the subject of low-level chatter in Canberra over the past three months. Of course, it hasn’t escaped the attention of the opposition either.

Whichever way you cut it, Wells’ next move is tough. It could be argued that hiding out would be the best way to avoid drawing more heat after she came under fire last December following revelations she travelled to New York along with two staffers to take a victory lap on Labor’s social media ban at a cost of $100,000.

And yet at the end of the day, it’s the minister’s job to rub elbows with key sporting administrators and show up in support of the nation’s biggest sporting events.

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