The chic hatter
Milliner and fashion designer, Delna Poonawalla, talks about turning heads at the race with her stylish creations

Q. How did you get into hat designing?
A. I loved watching my mum and grand mum get ready for the races and waited for the moment when I would get to wear a fancy hat. I believe this is when my interest in fashion and hats came into being. Horses are magnificent creatures and they deserve nothing less than well turned out spectators who can appreciate their beauty and grace. The Poonawalla brothers, Zavaray and Cyrus introduced a horse race for the 3-year-olds, but with a new spin to it which included having fashion at the forefront, which my mother participated in enthusiastically to make it one of the most sought after fashion events of the country. Mingling fashion and horses could not have been a more natural and perfect union. I mention this because growing up watching this unfold made me want to bring fashion, hats and all this style that went along, right to the forefront and this was truly my inspiration behind it all.