The "Duke of Melbourne millinery" - more formally Mr Peter Jago, esquire, if you don't mind – has 31 Caulfield Cup carnivals under his hat.

And it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to say he's responsible for many of the most magnificent creations on course, year after year.

Jago is an irrepressibly flamboyant force of colour, style and substance and it's hard – nay, impossible – to imagine any racing carnival without his over-the-top presence.

Or his millinery. Especially the millinery.

Jago has been servicing the society ladies of Melbourne for more than three decades ("oh, you make me sound such a stud!," he cries, with scandalous delight) and his creations have not only crowned the heads of the fashionable but also evolved into art pieces that regularly tour Australia as elegant examples of the painstaking process of couture millinery.

He describes himself as "having the soul of a black woman stuck inside a white man, with the heart of a queen."

When Private Melbourne visited his Brighton studio this week, Jago was to be found fussing and preening over the delightful Grace, of Vivien models, who was on hand to model some of his most important pieces in front of our cameras.

These are not your run of the mill hats. No perchinator, hatinator, fascinating hot messes here.

Jago takes inspiration from the land – his iconic Gondwana collection was commissioned by the Queensland government and remains on permanent loan to MOMA – and among his earliest influences, he says, was the experience of growing up in Papua New Guinea, where both parents took postings at a primary school.

Feathers and flowers and native, earthy tones permeate his work; yet you are just as likely to find an exquisite art deco tiara nestled in the corner of his studio.

"Trend" is a dirty word, according to Jago.

Witnessing him at work, stitching, crafting, preening, one has the sense his millinery is simply an extension of his own boundless energy.

A tasselled, conical African-themed piece brings to mind Grace Jones at her fiercest.

"Exactly!" Jago shrieks. "This piece is more than 20 years old and she still hasn't lost her style."

Indeed, Jago – Cup carnival after Cup carnival, spring after spring - has proved he is definitely still in style.

His work has become part of Australian fashion history. Examples of Jago's work are held in the permanent collection of the Australian Racing Museum on display at the National Sports Museum in the MCG.

Jago's brilliant contribution to Melbourne millinery was recognised a decade ago at the Millinery Association of Australia Awards when he was inducted into its Hall of Fame.

Jago – who once worked with retailers David Jones and MimCo – now creates pieces strictly on a commission basis.

The finished creations go for at least $1000, but it is unlikely Jago's clients fuss too much over the price tag.

After so many years in the game, Jago has perhaps earned the right to be "ex-pen-sive dahhling!".

Naturally, he will be out and about at the running of the Caulfield Cup on Saturday.

As always, he will be the one in the fabulous hat.