Colour! Brights! The slightly whacky intersection of Charlie Chaplin and circus clowns. Gail Sorronda's presentation on day 1 of MBFWA was all this and so much more. Utilising Sorronda's canon of staple shapes - the voluminous tops, the trapeze, tent-like dresses, the ruffle embelishments - this collection seemed lighter somehow. For Spring/Summer it will work well, all those colours play off the brightness of Australian heat, and the oversized, overblown shapes won't go astray when it starts to get warmer.
But it wasn't just about dressing for summer or commercialism or whatever that even means. This collection almost seemed like a coming of age for Sorronda. After seasons and seasons and countless seasons of monochromatic collections and a focus on black and white the blooming of brights in such an extravagant, eye-catching way seemed almost mature. Splashed happily and with carefree, reckless abandon across overalls, shift-dresses and tailored shirting the effect was something quite marvelous. It took many a bystander's breath away who, coming to expect black and white designs infused with Sorronda's trademark dark romance, were faced with this. Cheery - clown-like, remember? - designs with slicked-back hair and sensible shoes. It was so simple that it was surprising that we had never thought of it before.
Oh my goth. Oh my goth indeed. The title of the collection was particularly apt. Hardly a goth-like figure in sight, as clown-like flared trousers jostled for attention against Rosette-strewn skirts. There was plenty of black in there, don't get me wrong. But you barely noticed it. And it didn't seem like the heavy, headache-inducing, angry sort of black that a lot of designers spew forth. There was a lightness to it all, which was the most intriguing thing. Oh my goth might as well be an exclamation, both of incredulity and surprise, though not, we might add, an unwelcome one. The goth girl is all grown up. And look how far she has come.
Ilustrations by Talisa Sutton, photos by Rohan Peterson and words by me. Check out our review of Romance Was Born on Talisa's blog Badlands.
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