Dorchester Collection's luxury country house hotel in Ascot, Coworth Park, is to launch a Royal Ascot Hat Competition giving fashionable race-goers the chance to attend Royal Ascot 2014 with their own hat design personally made in the couture atelier of celebrated milliner Stephen Jones, OBE. 

The winner and companion will receive hospitality tickets to attend Royal Ascot on Thursday, 19 June 2014 and two nights stay in a luxurious suite at Coworth Park.   Should the winner and guest live outside England they will arrive in style with return flights provided by British Airways, one of the world's leading global premium airlines, inviting an international audience to take part in the competition.  

Open to all the fashion-minded, the competition launches 1 April 2014 and closes on 10 May 2014 and is for ladies hats only.  Entries will be judged by Stephen Jones on originality and individuality.  The design must be appropriate for Ascot and abide by Royal Enclosure guidelines**, while also reflecting the style and individuality of English luxury country house hotel and spa, Coworth Park. 

Commenting on the forthcoming competition at Coworth Park, celebrated milliner Stephen Jones said: "Coworth Park is the perfect fit for this competition as it is on the doorstep of Royal Ascot where hats are the extraordinary fashion focus."

Contestants can enter by submitting an A4 sized sketch or mood board showing front, back and side views, fabric suggestions and a 100 word description of their hat design and inspiration. The winner will be announced at this year's Coworth Park Hat Salon hosted by Stephen Jones on Tuesday, 20 May 2014, and via Twitter @CoworthParkUK. Enter the competition via AscotHatPrize.CPA@dorchestercollection.com, and follow news and updates on social media using #CPAscotHatPrize. 

The annual Coworth Park Hat Salon forms part of the hotel's popular monthly speaker event programme and includes lunch in Restaurant Coworth Park and a talk by milliner Stephen Jones on the best way to choose and wear a hat, the history of Ascot, and 2014 millinery trends.   

Just 15 minutes' drive from Coworth Park, Ascot Racecourse is home of the five day Royal Meeting, which has established itself as a national institution and the focal-point of the British social calendar where fashion shares centre stage with first class racing.  Heathrow is just 20 minutes' drive from Coworth Park making the hotel the perfect English countryside destination for travellers flying with British Airways into the award-winning Terminal 5.  Coworth Park and Stephen Jones have enjoyed creative collaboration since the hotel opened in 2010 - Stephen Jones designed the Coworth Park Couture Millinery Collection which can be borrowed by hotel guests not wishing to travel with hat boxes.  Stephen was also commissioned by British Airways to design the female cabin crew hat and has worked with Royal Ascot and the British Fashion Council for several years to showcase the Headonism initiative for young British milliners.

Competition terms and conditions:

Please visit dorchestercollection.com/ascot-hat-competition from 1 March 2014 for detailed competition terms and conditions, and a downloadable application form.

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Editor's Notes

Stephen Jones

Stephen Jones spearheaded the fashionable revival of British Millinery in the early 1980's. Using unusual materials and daring designs, his exquisitely crafted hats have continued to push boundaries of hat design.  He was named an OBE in the 2009 New Year Honours list to recognize his services to British millinery. In 2010 he became the fashion ambassador for Coworth Park and was a judge on the UK panel of the Dorchester Collection Fashion Prize 2010 and 2013.  He was also honoured with the Fashion Group International Star Honoree in New York and held a major exhibition at the V & A showcasing the universal appeal and delight of wearing hats. In addition to his own innovative collections, he continues to design for the world's leading fashion designers including Marc Jacobs, Giles Deacon and Christian Dior, and has created hats for a wide range of celebrity clients.

Ascot Racecourse

Ascot Racecourse, founded in 1711, is the premier racing venue in the United Kingdom and home to Europe's flagship flat race meeting, Royal Ascot and recently celebrated its 300th anniversary.

Royal Ascot is not only a national institution but the centrepiece of the British social calendar.  The famous Berkshire track sets the ultimate stage for the best racehorses in the world and fashion is high on the agenda, with extravagant millinery and stylish outfits out in force for all five days of the Royal Meeting, Tuesday 17th to Saturday 21st June 2014.

It is an occasion like no other in the sporting calendar as whilst it is demonstrably a celebration of horseracing at its very best, with a total of £5m on offer in prize money, it is also a social occasion, steeped in history and synonymous with pageantry and style.  On each of the five race days, The Queen arrives by Royal Procession along the racecourse with her guests, in full view of up to 80,000 spectators.

Ascot races on 21 days of the year outside Royal Ascot and has an extensive and varied programme of jumps and flat action.  Highlights include Europe's mid-flat season championship race, the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes in July; the world's premier jockeys' competition, the Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup in August, one of several popular family days during the year; and QIPCO British Champions Day in October, which brings the curtain down on the flat season.  Ascot.co.uk

**Royal Enclosure Ladies Millinery Requirements:  Hats or a headpiece with a base of 4 inches (10cm) or more in diameter is acceptable as an alternative to a hat.  Please note fascinators are no longer permitted in the Royal Enclosure.

British Airways

British Airways, part of International Airlines Group, is one of the world's leading global premium airlines. The airline is the largest international carrier in the UK, flying to more than 150 destinations in 75 countries. In 2012 the airline carried more than 37 million customers. The airline currently has a fleet of more than 270 aircraft.

The carrier operates from the award-winning Terminal 5 at London Heathrow, the world's busiest international airport. This year Terminal 5 was named by Skytrax as the World's Best Airport Terminal for the second year running, and has won the World's Best Airport Shopping award.

In September 2013, British Airways was awarded the Best Airline, Best Short-Haul Carrier, Best First Class, Best Frequent Flyer Programme and Best Airport Lounge for its facility at Heathrow's Terminal 5, by Business Traveller following a survey of the magazine's readers in the UK.

Coworth Park

Coworth Park is a 70-room luxury country house hotel and spa set in 240 acres of picturesque Berkshire parkland just 45 minutes from central London and 20 minutes from Heathrow airport.  Its location, unrivalled in the UK for the ease and convenience of its transport links, is also enhanced by its own helipad.  The estate includes an eco-luxury Spa with indoor pool and three restaurants including relaxed dining in The Barn, modern British cuisine at Restaurant Coworth Park in the Mansion House, and a Spatisserie. Coworth Park is the only UK hotel to feature its own polo fields and a full programme of polo tournaments, which are managed by Guards Polo Club.  It also offers an exceptional equestrian centre; current facilities include stabling for 30 horses together with self-contained accommodation for grooms.

Dorchester Collection

Dorchester Collection is a portfolio of the world's foremost luxury hotels in Europe and the USA, each of which reflects the distinctive culture of its destination. By applying its unrivalled experience and capability in owning and operating some of the greatest individual hotels, the company's mission is to develop an impeccable group of the finest landmark hotels through acquisition as well as management of wholly-owned and part-owned hotels, and to enter into management agreements.

The current portfolio includes the following hotels (in order of them joining the group): The Dorchester, London; The Beverly Hills Hotel, Beverly Hills; Le Meurice, Paris; Hôtel Plaza Athénée, Paris; Hotel Principe di Savoia, Milan; Hotel Bel-Air, Los Angeles; Coworth Park, Ascot, UK; 45 Park Lane, London; and Le Richemond, Geneva.

For further press information, please contact:

Olivia Johnson or Calum Donoghue at Peretti Communications

Telephone: 020 7244 1930

Email: olivia.j@peretti.com calum.d@peretti.com