Representing the ying and yang of fashion design with her stark palette of polar shades (brooding black and crisp white), antipodean Gail Sorronda’s SS09-10 collection brings together conflicting colours in an alluringly delicate dance filled with powerful, girlish romance. Aptly named ‘Invasive Exotics’, the collection is ritualistic, almost alien and yet unavoidably, magically entrancing. Feathers, tulle and silk melt together as white and black become each other, and proportions teasingly play somewhere between whimsical, floaty, silhouette embracing shapes and gravity defying structure. Espousing the power of love as an all encompassing aphrodisiac and universal healer, Sorronda reconciles difference in all its forms, skewing perception to create a beautiful world where everything is one and nothing is as it seems. Here, Sorronda shares a piece of her infinitely appealing fashion fantasy with Dazed Digital…
 
Dazed Digital: How was the Gail Sorronda label conceived?
Gail Sorronda: At the end of uni I won Mercedez Benz start up and was able to show my graduate collection at Australian Fashion Week. From that I started my label and secured some stockists.
 
DD: Who is Gail Sorronda?
Gail Sorronda: Gail Sorronda is an emotive label on a non-linear path. It’s a voyeuristic alter-ego sometimes echoing other times deflecting.    
 
DD: What is the philosophy behind the Gail Sorronda label?
Gail Sorronda: Appropriation of inspired truth.
 
DD: What inspired the S/S 09-10 collection?
Gail Sorronda: ‘Invasive exotics’ was inspired by a foreign environment. A ritual like exotic birds dancing. The rare and dominant species are introduced in an awkward embrace. The love spreads and takes over like an invasive exotic.
 
DD: What are the key looks for next summer?
Gail Sorronda: Transparency, structure and silhouette, contrast, shoulder/sleeve emphasis and unusual headpieces.
 
DD: Gail Sorronda's collections always seem fit for a modern princess. How important is romance and fantasy to Gail Sorronda?
Gail Sorronda: Love is the most important and fantasy is the symbolism we communicate through design.
 
DD: Coming from a climate where clothing is largely trans-seasonal, how do you reconcile collections for your European customers?
Gail Sorronda: Previously international stockists have just ordered according to what the label offers our stronger Australian market.  Now however purely by just living and experiencing a European winter (defined seasons) I would really like to reflect this more confidently in my winter collections.     
 
DD: What designers inspire you and why?
Gail Sorronda: Zaha Hadid for her organic and symbiotic designs.  She is also a designer that has diversified.
 
DD: What is your earliest fashion memory?
Gail Sorronda: My mother taking photos of my sister and I in matching overalls, hats and sunglasses.
 
DD: Where can we purchase Gail Sorronda online?
Gail Sorronda: Maximillia and Frockshop. No European stockists for AW09