@gnarlynandos: Stylist Sonali Fernando recreates Perth suburbs as high fashion outfits in unrivalled series

The stylist behind a growing TikTok series is attracting hundreds of thousands of views with her recreations of Perth suburbs as high-fashion outfits.

Sonali Fernando has used her commanding sense of style and abundant wardrobe to build outfits inspired by areas across WA in a set of videos that are rapidly gaining traction online.

Ms Fernando has curated ensembles for almost every suburb, from Wanneroo to Armadale, Cowaramup and even Kalgoorlie — and she knows what she’s talking about.

“I grew up in Perth. And growing up as a first-generation immigrant, my family have lived all over Perth,” she said.

“I’ve lived in Belmont, I lived in Cloverdale, I’ve lived in the hills regions.

“Also, being part of that kind of immigrant community, a lot of us are sort of in those historically lower socio-economic areas.

“So, having spent a lot of time in those areas, we just kind of develop an insight into the vibe of the place, the characters that live there and things that make it unique.”

Ms Fernando’s TikTok dedicated to Gosnells, Armadale, and Fremantle has garnered 170,000 views.

She explained how she recreated her edgy look for Belmont, which has been viewed close to 46,000 times.

“Belmont is pulling from the more eshay vibes that you see sometimes and the colourful items that you see some people wearing: like the Asian grandmas that are dressed in all kinds of different colours, they have their trolley and they’re getting their groceries and the people that you see after the Belmont’s 5am swap meet market.

“It’s just taking elements like that, which uniquely reflect the aura or the essence of the suburb and then bringing it to life in an outfit.

“Especially for some of the lower socio-economic areas, I wanted to elevate them as well; there’s actually a lot of cool things happening in those areas.”

Ms Fernando’s ethically sourced and hyper-local fashion series is the first of its kind in Perth and an ode to the city she believes to be Australia’s underdog.

“Perth is kind of an underdog state and I want to embrace it,” she added.

“I think it’s a bit of a rite of passage for creators in Perth to, you know, do their time in Perth and then they inevitably leave to go to Melbourne or Sydney or overseas.

“For me (the series) was a way for me to be like ‘there’s things to appreciate here and there are things happening, there is a space to be seen and to make a change — you can be yourself now’.

“It’s also sort of poking fun at the view that Perth is a bit more conservative, but you can still do your thing here.”