Sonia Stradiotto opens new Southport couture studio after Marina Mirage exit
Gold Coast couture queen Sonia Stradiotto has unveiled her new Southport studio, revealing the ‘magical’ power behind her enduring fashion empire.
She’s a fashion superhero with a sequined cape.
Designer Sonia Stradiotto might be best known as the Gold Coast’s queen of couture, but it turns out she’s also imbued with a magical energy, one that can transform her clients into corporate warriors or ballroom belles.
After almost four decades in the fashion industry, Ms Stradiotto is at the height of her powers as she opens the doors of her new Southport studio, House of Stradiotto.
Following 22 years trading at Marina Mirage, it was time for her to design new headquarters ahead of the demolition and redevelopment of the Main Beach centre, which is expected to be completed by 2029.
Ms Stradiotto said, while she hoped to one day return to the precinct, the opportunity for renewal came at a perfect time.
After releasing her autobiography, House of Couture, earlier this year, she said she was newly inspired to help women write fresh chapters in their own story – beginning with a new wardrobe.
“This is my secret that I’m going to share with you,” Ms Stradiotto said.
“My customers, my clients, they have convinced me of the power of Sonia Stradiotto Couture. They have explained how they feel strong, vibrant and positive when they wear my designs, and they tell me of these amazing occurrences and connections when they are wearing my brand.
“One particular businesswoman recently came back from an American conference and she said no one even looked at her in previous years, nobody spoke to her.
“But this last conference she had a full Sonia wardrobe and she said they were knocking people over to get to her.
“I was overwhelmed when she told me. But I do know there is power in what you wear. A good jacket is like a shield, it holds you up, it protects you, it gives you the bravery to be bold.”
Being bold is not just Ms Stradiotto’s style, it’s her character.
She moved to the Gold Coast from Melbourne when she was four years old, alongside her tailor mother Mariette and musician father Nino Alda.
She started her business in 1989 and opened her first shop in Southport’s Davenport St called Pretty Woman in 1990, which sold out of stock within three days of opening.
She later launched Sonia Karadimos Design Studio under her previous married name, then Bliss by Sonia Stradiotto and now simply Sonia Stradiotto Couture, moving to Marina Mirage in 2004, but it’s always been the same woman and same vision.
It was after the 30th anniversary of her brand, when she thought she was finished with business, that Covid came along and helped her define and divine her true purpose.
“Covid showed me how important the European style of selling is, how personal connection is essential, and how salon-style shopping is what people love,” she said.
“That’s why at the House of Stradiotto we have created a concept that includes the salon, as well as designer-direct and an outlet department too. We have a budget for everyone.
“You can come to the private room and have an appointment and fittings with the designer, or you can go downstairs and grab a pair of our black pants that are a perennial classic.
“The focus here is about people. That’s what has been behind my longevity in business, I believe in relationships and connections, friendship and kindness.”
Over the course of so many decades, fashion trends have come and gone, but Ms Stradiotto has remained relevant.
She said her brand was the antithesis of fast fashion, with her designs remaining stylish no matter how many years had passed.
“I never say this is the latest collection, you have to buy it. I help clients find what suits them, whatever that is. Mass production is not my style, I create new collections every month so when it’s that unique, it doesn’t date.
“We do have classics like black pants that we always keep in stock, but we’re not following trends, we create fashion.
“You’ll find summer clothing here in winter, and winter in summer, we know our clients travel and you can wear it any time, any year.
“Just the other day one of my clients was stopped and complimented on her jacket – it was from 2004.
“I even have clients in New York now thanks to Serena Russo — she said to me that my brand was a hidden gem that needed to go global.”
While every collection is beloved to Ms Stradiotto, she admits she has her favourites.
When designers George Gross and Harry Who, the late Harry Watt, left Marina Mirage to go back to South Australia, they made Ms Stradiotto promise to “keep the jacket alive, babe”.
Not only did she do that, she made it her signature – especially when she combined it with her other favourite, sequin fabric.
“During Covid, I did the #nopyjamas hashtag and somehow created a vibe – it was like a cult following: sequin jackets with a crossbody bag, blue jeans, white T-shirt and funky runners,” she said.
“That took my business to a whole other level.
“Now we have other designers saying ‘Oh, I can do a Sonia jacket’, but it’s not the same. At first I was a little offended but then I thought, well, that’s a compliment really.
“I was actually in Christian Dior in Portofino and someone asked me for my sequined jacket in their size … they thought that I worked there and that my own design was a Dior.
“I didn’t tell them I was the designer. I think you need to respect another designer when you are in their house, but I did have a big smile on my face.”
As she opens the doors to her new studio space, trading Wednesday to Saturday from 10am to 3pm, Ms Stradiotto said there was more to come in 2026.
From a relaunch of her menswear line next year to the possibility of more locations, she said she was excited about her own next chapter.
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