Painted nude models turn heads at the races

While a day at the English races is full of fascinators and (sometimes) very revealing dresses, New Zealand’s tradition is very different.

Each year, the Trotting Cup Day holds the ZM Body Art contest which sees artistically painted nude models take to the runway in front of judges and a big crowd.

This year saw superheroes, skeletal creatures and a woman dubbed ‘Miss Canterbury’ housing a beautifully drawn cathedral across her torso.

The competition is open to both men and women with a large cash prize given to the overall winner. That money was given to artist Angela Pethig for her depiction of Christ Church Cathedral – which was destroyed in an earthquake in 2011 – bravely modelled by burlesque dancer Angela Rose Crossan.

Pethig explained the painstaking amount of preparation required, saying it takes around 10 hours to paint the model from head to toe.

This attention-grabbing display comes at the same time as the antics at neighbouring Australia’s Melbourne Cup which saw several women don their most ostentatious hats for the cameras.

This make-up artist creates famous pieces of art on her face

These beautiful paintings were made with nail polish