Ana de Armas as Bond Girl Paloma in No Time To Die,wearing the Alexandra dress by Australian designer Michael Lo Sordo.
Familiar with the world of espionage,at least on screen,having dressed Rebecca Ferguson inMission Impossible:Rogue Nation in 2015,Lo Sordo set about creating 10 copies of the navy,silk satin Alexandra dress,with a plunging neckline,open back and handy slit for crippling high kicks.
“They let me know that the dress was for an action sequence and would probably be destroyed along the way.” Following Zoom fittings,where the identity of the actor remained a secret,a final dress for close-ups was handed over in a corridor at the Hotel de Crillon in Paris. Mission accomplished.
In late August 2019,a mysterious box arrived at Lo Sordo’s Sydney studio,printed with the revealing insignia 007. For James Bond fan Lo Sordo,it was an exciting moment,that he promptly forgot. COVID-19 pushed the film’s release date back by months and the designer faced the challenges of lockdowns. Then the posters started to appear. “All of a sudden the dress was everywhere and the hype began.”
Margot Robbie wearing the Alexandra dress at the Sydney premiere of I,Tonya in 2018;Designer Michael Lo Sordo;Annie Murphy wearing the Alexandra dress in the Schitt’s Creek finale,alongside Dan Levy as Alexis and David Rose.Credit:Getty
Like many Australian designers,Lo Sordo does not advertise in magazines,relying on runway shows and celebrity red carpet appearances for publicity. There were spikes in sales when Margot Robbie wore a white version of the Alexandra dress to the Sydney premiere ofI,Tonyain 2018,followed by the same dress featuring in the wedding finale of Canadian television seriesSchitt’s Creek,worn by actor Annie Murphy. Reformed chauvinist Bond,however,still manages to outdo the women when it comes to sales power.
“Net-a-Porter promoted the dress when the film was released in London,” Lo Sordo said. “It sold out in two days. We are now working on our fourth lot of re-orders. We are also just keeping up with demand on our online store where it has sold out again and again.”