Filipino nurse Sherlon Garbo reaches Best Suited grand final at Flemington after Melbourne Cup Day

Registered nurse Sherlon Garbo, profiled by SBS Filipino as a Filipino nurse from Darwin, was named a Lexus Melbourne Cup Day Best Suited finalist and goes through to Thursday’s grand final at Flemington, the VRC reported on 4 November.

Registered nurse Sherlon Garbo has secured a place in Thursday’s grand final of the Best Suited competition at Flemington after being named a finalist on Lexus Melbourne Cup Day, the Victoria Racing Club (VRC) reported on 4 November.

Garbo, whom SBS Filipino profiled in 2023 as a Filipino nurse from Darwin, was one of three Cup Day finalists the VRC described as familiar faces on the Flemington catwalk. The other two were Kalombo Ntumba and Rob Lee.

His Cup Day look

According to the VRC, Garbo built his outfit around a bright orange suit jacket, white trousers and a vivid yellow shirt. He cut and sewed his own millinery from fabric matched to his shirt, and finished the look with an oversized floral brooch, pocket square, tie and tie pin.

“I think Melbourne is about bold colour, and I chose to make my accessories big, like my boat bag,” Garbo said, according to the VRC. He also said: “I’m into expression in fashion.”

A regular at Flemington

The VRC describes Garbo as a regular entrant and 2022 winner. In an October feature on handmade racewear, it said he won the inaugural Best Suited in 2022 with a tailored jacket, shirt and tie paired with a skirt that he made himself, and that his wins have featured raffia-fringed bags and sculptural hats drawing on weaving traditions from Africa, the Pacific and Australia.

At last year’s Fashions on the Field grand finals on Crown Oaks Day, Garbo was awarded third place in the Best Suited category, according to the VRC’s 2025 winners announcement.

SBS Filipino reported in 2023 that Garbo also won the 2020 Fashions on Your Front Lawn competition during the pandemic, using recycled clothing.

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