Sofia Connelly’s vintage store Pecorina is a love letter to Italy, in Australia

PHOTOGRAPHY BY LARA WOODROW FOR PECORINA

WORDS BY IZZY WIGHT

“There’s nothing more sentimental than the clothes that once belonged to somebody else.”

It only makes sense that the idea for Sofia Connelly’s online vintage store, Pecorina, was conceived while she was on a morning stroll through Florence’s historic Cascine Park. It took almost a year before Pecorina came to fruition, with Sofia pushed by that all-too-familiar, post-pandemic listlessness.

“I’d tried university degrees but that wasn’t it, it wasn’t a full-time job, it wasn’t in friend groups and it wasn’t falling in love either,” Sofia says. “Turns out it was clothes.”

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More specifically, Pecorina is vintage and secondhand clothes sourced from across Italy; archival pieces from labels like Cop Copine, Dolce and Gabbana and Rossella Jardini-era Moschino. Below, Sofia speaks on Pecorina’s beginnings.

Tell us about you. How did Pecorina get started?

Well, my name is Sofia. I own/operate an online vintage/secondhand clothing store called Pecorina. It was launched on June 16 this year, so it’s very fresh. [The idea for] Pecorina started last year. I was on a solo soul-searching tour, trying to find myself in the wake of the unfavourable events of the past couple of years.

Post-COVID, lost, confused, heartbroken, the devastated Northern Rivers… I was feeling pretty desperate. [I was] desperate to find something to get up for every day. I’d tried university degrees but that wasn’t it, it wasn’t a full-time job, it wasn’t in friend groups and it wasn’t falling in love either. Turns out it was clothes, [specifically] collecting vintage/secondhand clothes.

I first had the idea years ago when I was living in Italy, I thought, ‘How cool it would be to have a business sourcing secondhand clothes from Italy?’. Because there’s so much there, [and] then selling them at home – the dream. I guess I had to try out all the other things before I’d know this was it.

So there I was, taking the exact same morning walk through the Cascine, [at] 7.30 am on a Tuesday in September, with the same original idea… but now I believed I could actually do it.

What’s your sourcing process like? Have you always been a vintage collector?

… I wish I had a concise systematic answer for you and me. The stock I have at the moment I bought in Europe last year, mostly Italy. My friend Georgia came with me for most of it and it was hard work. Every item was hand-picked and deliberated, some items left behind I’m still thinking about.

I haven’t bought more since, mostly because I found it a lot to manage, and I was solely focused on building the website and then launching it. Now I’m thinking about different sourcing options every day. I’ve thought about sourcing across Asia because it’s closer to home and there’s so much interesting stuff there, and I’m sure I will at some point.

But then I’ve put so much legwork into sourcing clothes in Italy, it’s familiar, I know where I want to go to get what, [and] roughly what it will cost. Plus it’s authentic to Pecorina, it’s romantic, and that’s really important to me because it’s been such a personal journey.

I’m hopelessly nostalgic, I’m like a puppy on a leash pulled towards anything with sentimental potential. Clothing adorns the body, it’s such an intimate possession, there’s nothing more sentimental than the clothes that once belonged to somebody else. It’s difficult to convey that over the internet but it’s what I’m trying to communicate with Pecorina.

I don’t find there’s anything romantic about a shopping mall or picking an item off the rack at Zara, there’s no fantasy in the clothing. And maybe not everyone is looking for romance and fantasy in their clothing, but maybe not everyone knows it’s possible. I’m hopeful I can give that to people.

I remember my first fashion-related obsession was with Louis Vuitton luggage when I was maybe 12 years old. I would look at bags, suitcases and trunks online endlessly. The deeper my knowledge gets on fashion history the larger my collector ambitions become.

It’s amazing to see pictures of your beautiful grandma and sister on the site. Can you talk about how your family inspired you in starting Pecorina?

I’m so happy to hear that, and my grandma will be too! She is my greatest inspiration, she manufactured clothing in Byron Bay for 30 years so my memories of time spent with her growing up centre around that, from playing in her incredible wardrobe, to visiting her factory, and helping in her office when I was in high school.

She had an exquisite walk-through wardrobe, Giorgio Armani was her favourite designer, besides herself. She’s someone who’s larger than life, and people seem to love seeing her on my personal gram and Pecorina so that must show through. The first thing she does when she gets out of bed in the morning is go to the mirror and apply lipstick, every day without fail.

I’ve observed this ritual forever and what stays with me about that is the insistence to continue. It’s not about vanity or femininity, it’s that no matter what is happening in your personal life, at work, or in the world, you never stop, you get up and you keep going.

My sister is a huge inspiration as well, I’m absolutely obsessed with her, I think she’s the coolest, most stunning, beautiful person alive. We have very different personalities and that’s obvious in the way we look, how we dress and our interests, yet at the same time there’s no one more alike to us than each other, something amusing about siblings.

When my ideas feel tired, my sister is the first person I go to. [It’s] guaranteed she’ll offer a different perspective and I really appreciate it. Perspective is a gift.

Do you have a favourite designer or era you look for?

There are the designers whose clothes I love the most: Tom Ford, Marc Jacobs and Zac Posen in his debut era. In terms of brands, Moschino is hands down my favourite brand, across all eras, from Franco Moschino to Rossella Jardini and Jeremy Scott. Save the Queen! is another of my favourite brands, and Cop Copine.

Designers are incredibly interesting people so if, at face value, their work doesn’t resonate with me something else will, whether it’s their personal history, public persona or creative process, which in turn makes me more interested in their work.

For example, I’m obsessed with Miuccia Prada and the pipeline from communism to Miu Miu, or designers like Donatella Versace, Michael Kors, Karl Lagerfeld who are a spectacle in and of themselves. Then there are designers who are conceptual artists, like McQueen, Galliano, Margiela and their work seems as if it’s of another world.

What are the most-loved pieces in your personal wardrobe?

My Margiela Tabi ballet flats, I got them for my birthday a few years ago. They are the only designer item I’ve gotten brand new (I think) and I wanted them for a very long time, more than anything else.

[Also] a real camel hair coat that belonged to my great grandmother, it’s timeless and still looks brand new; an Italian gold teddy bear pendant I’ve had since I was born, I think it’s from the Ponte Vecchio; [and] my wallet, it’s Gucci from the store in Florence.

I’ve had it for maybe eight years and it looks so bad, it’s covered in stains and it feels damp all the time I don’t what that’s about [and] the stitching is coming apart, but I don’t care I love it and will have it forever.

Who do you think is most exciting in the Australian creative industries right now?

I have to be honest, since being on the Gold Coast I’ve been so disconnected from everything. I work like 24/7 and barely leave the house so I’m not tapped into any of the creative scenes in Australia. I do try to keep up with Australian resellers, I genuinely enjoy doing so and it’s so cool because everyone has different tastes, no one’s doing things the same.

Lots of new independent Australian brands/labels emerged out of COVID too which is so dope. I like seeing how designers/creators translate their products/brands to an online audience, especially on TikTok. I love TikTok and some people are so good at it, I feel like you guys [Fashion Journal] are really good at it.

I think Australia has a major problem with fast fashion/fast culture which is a reflection of the cultural zeitgeist: systemic belittling of creative industries and the refusal to acknowledge their contribution to the fabric of society.

I’ll be the first to ride for anyone out there honestly pursuing their passion or dream, doesn’t matter what it is. Creating something and putting it out into the world is really hard, and these are niche markets that need the support of the Australian consumer.

This article was originally published on August 15, 2023.

Browse the Pecorina collection here.