Michael Lo Sordo

These are premium occasion pieces rather than everyday buys, so the worth comes down to how you wear them. The label is built around fluid, body-skimming eveningwear with a refined, sensual line, the kind of dress designed to carry a wedding, a red carpet or a milestone night and still feel relevant years later. If you want a considered statement gown you will keep returning to, it earns its place; if you need something casual, this is not that brand.

The most recognisable starting point is the Bond 007 Paloma Maxi Dress — the navy silk-satin gown, with its plunging neckline and high slit, that the label became famous for. It captures the house signature in one piece: a clean, draped silhouette that reads as quietly sexy rather than fussy. If a full gown feels like a lot, a simpler slip or column dress in the same fluid spirit is the gentler way in.

It is the Alexandra gown, since renamed the Bond 007 Paloma Maxi Dress: a navy silk-satin maxi with a plunging neckline and a slit. It served as the costume for Paloma, played by Ana de Armas, in No Time to Die (2021). Tellingly, costume designer Suttirat Larlarb requested ten of them, and the designer was not even told it would be a James Bond film ahead of time.

Screen moments like this one tend to ignite a dress, and this one had real momentum behind it. Before the Bond film, the same gown had already been worn by Margot Robbie at the premiere of I, Tonya in 2017, and at the No Time to Die premiere it appeared on Australian model Charlee Fraser, accompanied by the designer himself. After the film, the dress became so sought-after that it sold out multiple times on the luxury retailer Net-a-Porter.

Michael Lo Sordo is an Australian fashion designer, born in Sydney in 1984 and of Italian heritage, with a twin sister and an older sister. He originally set out to be a chef before changing course, drawn to design by his drawing talent and by the stylish students he saw on campus. That late pivot toward fashion is part of the brand's story.

He studied fashion at East Sydney TAFE NSW, graduating in 2006, and began his career that same year. Early on he worked as a visual merchandiser for the Italian fashion house Giorgio Armani — a grounding in Italian luxury and presentation that you can read in the restraint and polish of his own eveningwear.

Yes. Michael Lo Sordo is an Australian label, founded by and named for the Sydney-born designer, and it has become one of the country's more recognised eveningwear names internationally. That Australian identity, paired with the designer's Italian heritage and Armani-trained eye, is a big part of its character: relaxed confidence with continental polish.

The house leans into fluid, sensual eveningwear with a clean, architectural line — think draped silk-satin, plunging necklines and slits handled with restraint rather than flash. The Bond gown is the clearest distillation of that point of view: minimal, body-conscious and quietly glamorous. It is a label for someone who wants impact through cut and fabric, not embellishment.

The label has been carried by major luxury retailers — the Bond gown famously sold through Net-a-Porter — alongside the designer's own channels, and pre-owned pieces circulate on reputable resale platforms. To buy with confidence, stick to established stockists or vetted consignment, and check the construction and labelling closely; the appeal of this brand is in the quality of the silk-satin and the precision of the drape, which are hard to fake convincingly.

Treat it as the delicate occasion piece it is. Silk-satin rewards gentle handling, so favour professional dry cleaning over the washing machine, let it breathe between wears rather than sealing it in plastic, and hang it on a padded hanger so the bias drape is not pulled out of shape. Keep it out of direct sunlight in storage so a deep tone like the signature navy stays rich.