MICHAEL LO SORDO
“I think I’ve always simmered,” says Michael Lo Sordo, explaining how he’s managed to stay on the hot list since becoming the one to watch on 2008’s Next Gen runway. Lo Sordo remains one of the few noughties-born names, including Karla Špetic, Viktoria & Woods and Romance Was Born, with headliner status on the 2024 Australian Fashion Week schedule.
“I’ve always wanted to grow at an organic rate; nothing that would overwhelm what I wanted my house to be,” he says. “The Zimmermann sisters [Nicky and Simone of the Zimmermann label] have always been amazing mentors and I’ve been given great insights about staying in my lane and taking calculated risks.”
Flick through the Lo Sordo look book and in 2012 you’ll see boxy metallic tops and inkblot-print dresses that, then, might have seemed a departure. Flip forward and you can track how such risks evolved into the slinky metallic flow and hide-andreveal of Lo Sordo’s signature gowns.
“I always just want people to feel beautiful. I love the romance of it, and that has led me to designing for the modern evening-scape,” the designer says of where he’s at now.
Quiet luxury is a thing these days but it’s been his thing since day dot. “I’ve always stuck to quality,” says Lo Sordo. “Whatever I put out into the universe goes through my hands and I never compromise on that. I don’t see myself as a one-wear brand. I want rewearing and restyling and passing it down.”
“I don’t see myself as a one-wear brand. I want rewearing and restyling” – Michael Lo Sordo
Not that Lo Sordo hasn’t had viral moments. In the 2021 Bond film No Time to Die, actor Ana de Armas stole the show in a navy silk-satin Michael Lo Sordo number and blood-red lips. The Paloma maxi dress (named for her character) is still in demand today.
The designer also gets a kick out of seeing his dresses styled by real women. “I’m constantly looking at tags by customers [on social media],” he says. “If I see someone on the street wearing my dress, I’ll go up and say, ‘Hi’ ... and thank them for their support.”
While Lo Sordo launched a menswear range last year, his brand remains – at its heart – a celebration of women, and skin. It fits that the label has now expanded into beauty, with three Olio Frizzante sparkling body oils. Spiked with a golden, bronze or pearlescent glow, these are balmy, hydrating cocktails made to dry down. They were inspired by the fact “we’d lend garments to celebrities and they’d come back drenched with bronzer,” says Lo Sordo. “I drove my chemist crazy but we got the finish perfect.
I had a ‘nose’ in Switzerland [who] I was explaining the scent of Australian beach air and sex to … We got there.”
Lo Sordo is coy about what we’ll see on his runway this May. “I still love a show and get those sick butterfly nerves until the last model has walked out,” he admits. “I want every show to build on the last, so this year we’re working with new platforms.”