Looking through Gail Sorronda’s winter 2010 collection my mind started to wander away from the clothes. I wondered whether to write this out loud, as I realised I was more enamoured with the photography than the collection itself. Considering the sartorial subject, that’s a pretty big shift in focus. Anyone who is a fan of Gail’s work will agree that a Sorronda silhouette is something of an announcement. Like seasons past, winter again draws on those signature shapes, a clash of contemporary and classic; an opposition to texture that is dark and romantic, naturally in a palette of black.
But. I digress. The point is, Amber Toms is responsible for my fashion abandonment. It’s been a while since Canvas has found a local fashion photographer with a new perspective, one that doesn’t attempt to mimic or copycat. Sydney based and signed to no one, Amber is starting to build an interesting body of editorial work. Her pictures are soft and ethereal, poetic and pensive, and high-fashion with an edge. Followers of Australian fashion will link her work with Gary Bigeni and Gail. There must be some sort of symmetry in thinking though between Amber and Gail because I think Amber’s best ideas are produced when the two work together. Aside from several campaign shoots for the Gail Sorronda label, the duo have collaborated on a new project, Desire (a shot of which is shown exclusively here), as part of an upcoming exhibition that will tour both the Sydney and Melbourne Fashion Festivals.
