 |
| Romance Was Born's otherworldly collection was a standout at Australian Fashion Week. Photograph (above) by Nathan James. Cover picture by Anna Nguyen. |
The fashion world tends to cast its gaze north, to Parisian salons, Milanese runways and London's creative enclaves. But sometimes, magic happens farther afield. As we look back on the season's most compelling fashion moments, one of the boldest and emotionally resonant came not from Europe’s capitals, but from Sydney. Romance Was Born's Anna Plunkett and Luke Sales, closed Australian Fashion Week last month with a show that was part couture, part nostalgia, and wholly unforgettable, writes Jeanne-Marie Cilento. Photographs by Nathan James, Patrick Marion, Anna Nguyen and Mohan Raj
 |
The Ballets Russes were an inspiration for the collection. Photo: Mohan Raj |
Titled It’s in the Trees, the Resort 2026 collection, by designers Anna Plunkett and Luke Sales, transformed Sydney’s Carriageworks into an immersive dreamscape steeped in memory, fantasy, and natural beauty.
This wasn’t just another seasonal showcase, it was a personal journey into the brand’s creative DNA, one that resonated with powerful nostalgia and an imaginative spirit that has always defined Romance Was Born, but now with a new depth born from two decades of storytelling.
The audience was swept into a world that felt at once strange and familiar. Childhood memories with all their curiosity, and colour, formed the emotional undercurrent of the show. The designers drew from their own Australian upbringings, revisiting the sensory terrain of growing up immersed in bushland, surrounded by toys, pets, trees, and the thrill of dressing up. That blend of play and nature, of the real and the surreal, created a vivid and often poignant narrative on the runway.
Luke Sales and Anna Plunkett marked their 20th anniversary with a show that was more than a runway, it was a portal into another world
 |
Vivid colour and pattern were key to the designs. Photo: Patrick Marion |
The palette was unapologetically tempestuous, a riot of colour that suggested pulsing emotion. Deep forest greens met electric pinks; sunburnt ochres collided with fairy-floss pastels. There was nothing muted, nothing demure ~ and thank goodness for it.
Motifs from the natural world appeared as recurring characters. Butterflies, beetles, and birds adorned the garments in embroidered constellations and beaded clusters, each symbolising growth, wonder, and the alchemical nature of transformation.
And they weren’t merely decorative. They were central to the storytelling, visual anchors in a narrative that refused to stay grounded in a single realm of reality. Plunkett and Sales sought to capture moments of play where fantasy blurs with truth, where dressing up as a child becomes a genuine act of becoming.
Layered fabrics mimicked the dappled shadows of eucalyptus leaves, shimmering embellishments recalled the glint of beetle shells, the iridescence of a butterfly wing caught in sunlight.
 |
Layers of voluminous fabrics added drama and movement. Photo: Anna Nguyen |
The influence came through in the dramatic silhouettes, exaggerated sleeves, and sculptural headpieces that would feel equally at home in an opera house or on the set of a fantastical film.
But this was no historical pastiche. There were modern notes threaded throughout: sequined flame motifs reminiscent of Hot Wheels packaging; toy-like accessories rendered in crystal and lacquer; even Barbie’s iconic pink reinterpreted through a surrealist lens. These playful elements didn’t detract from the elegance, they enriched it, placing the collection in a contemporary, and Australian, context.
One of the defining characteristics of Romance Was Born’s twenty-year journey has been their ongoing commitment to collaboration and this season exemplified that ethos. Notably, the collection featured the work of Australian artist Laura Jones, whose paintings of native flora were transformed into textiles that whispered across the body like botanical reveries. Jones’s watercolour sensibility lent a softness to the collection’s more theatrical moments, creating an emotional experience that was as meditative as it was extravagant.
The designers drew from their own Australian upbringings, revisiting the sensory terrain of growing up immersed in bushland, surrounded by toys, pets, trees, and the thrill of dressing up
 |
Couture fabrication and sparkling details reimagined childhood icons. Photo: Anna Nguyen |
These symbols of early imagination were not used ironically but reverently. In the hands of Romance Was Born, these toys became relics of the joy, chaos and emotion that define growing up.
While the show was steeped in personal history and the duo's artistic legacy, it never strayed into nostalgia for its own sake. Instead, it felt like a reawakening, a way of honouring the past while stepping into the future.
Archival pieces made cameo appearances, including a reimagined version of their beloved “budgie” dress from the 2000s, originally made from recycled shoulder pads, now rendered with couture finesse. This circular dialogue with their own design history underscored just how far the Australian fashion house has come, and yet how faithfully it has held onto its core identity.
Plunkett and Sales anniversary show was not about summarising their career, but about diving deeper into the themes that have always fascinated them: transformation, fantasy, and emotional resonance. In a world that increasingly values minimalism, they have remained committed to maximalism, not just in visual terms, but in the emotional depth and richness of their work.
The show pulled the audience out of their chairs, metaphorically, and into a parallel universe, one where imagination takes precedence over seasonal trends
 |
The treed and twilit set of the show was a portal into another world. Photo: Nathan James |
In many ways, the presentation defied categorisation. It was fashion, yes, but also performance art, costume design, installation, and visual autobiography. It metaphorically pulled the audience out of their chairs and into a parallel universe, one where imagination takes precedence over seasonal trends.
And perhaps that’s the magic of Romance Was Born. They’re not in the business of manufacturing desire in the traditional fashion sense. They don’t make clothes to fit into the feed or follow the market. They create to connect, to evoke a feeling, a sense of something remembered but almost forgotten.
At a time when many labels are still pivoting toward speed, volume, and formulaic design, Romance Was Born continues to carve out a rare space where creativity comes first. Plunkett and Sales are designers, yes, but also dreamers, storytellers, and cultural custodians of a uniquely Australian kind of beauty: wild and emotive yet sophisticated and strong.
In a world that increasingly values minimalism, they have remained committed to maximalism, not just in visual terms, but in the emotional depth and richness of their work
 |
The atmospheric finale of the show felt like the end of an immersive performance. Photo: Anna Nguyen |
It’s in the Trees was a love letter to the pair's shared inventiveness. Anna Plunkett and Luke Sales honoured their artistry, while also making space for evolution and new beginnings.
In a fashion landscape which often prioritises the surface, this collection reminded us of the importance of recollection, ardour, and the capacity of human ingenuity. In that liminal space between costume and couture, between toy and treasure, between dusk and darkness, Romance Was Born gave us not just a show ~ but a world. One that, twenty years on, is still well worth stepping into.
Scroll down to see more highlights from Romance Was Born's Resort 2026 Collection
 |
| Romance Was Born, It's in the Trees, Resort 2026. Australian Fashion Week. Photograph: Nathan James |
 |
| Romance Was Born, It's in the Trees, Resort 2026. Australian Fashion Week. Photograph: Anna Nguyen |
 |
| Romance Was Born, It's in the Trees, Resort 2026. Australian Fashion Week. Photograph: Mohan Raj |
 |
| Romance Was Born, It's in the Trees, Resort 2026. Australian Fashion Week. Photograph: Patrick Marion |
 |
| Romance Was Born, It's in the Trees, Resort 2026. Australian Fashion Week. Photograph: Nathan James |
 |
| Romance Was Born, It's in the Trees, Resort 2026. Australian Fashion Week. Photograph: Anna Nguyen |
 |
| Romance Was Born, It's in the Trees, Resort 2026. Australian Fashion Week. Photograph: Mohan Raj |
 |
| Romance Was Born, It's in the Trees, Resort 2026. Australian Fashion Week. Photograph: Patrick Marion |
 |
| Romance Was Born, It's in the Trees, Resort 2026. Australian Fashion Week. Photograph: Nathan James |
 |
| Romance Was Born, It's in the Trees, Resort 2026. Australian Fashion Week. Photograph: Anna Nguyen |
 |
| Romance Was Born, It's in the Trees, Resort 2026. Australian Fashion Week. Photograph: Mohan Raj. |
 |
| Romance Was Born, It's in the Trees, Resort 2026. Australian Fashion Week. Photograph: Patrick Marion |
 |
| Romance Was Born, It's in the Trees, Resort 2026. Australian Fashion Week. Photograph: Nathan James |
 |
| Romance Was Born, It's in the Trees, Resort 2026. Australian Fashion Week. Photograph: Anna Nguyen |
 |
| Romance Was Born, It's in the Trees, Resort 2026. Australian Fashion Week. Photograph: Mohan Raj |
 |
| Romance Was Born, It's in the Trees, Resort 2026. Australian Fashion Week. Photograph: Patrick Marion |
 |
| Romance Was Born, It's in the Trees, Resort 2026. Australian Fashion Week. Photograph: Nathan James |
 |
| Romance Was Born, It's in the Trees, Resort 2026. Australian Fashion Week. Photograph: Anna Nguyen |
 |
| Romance Was Born, It's in the Trees, Resort 2026. Australian Fashion Week. Photograph: Mohan Raj |
 |
| Romance Was Born, It's in the Trees, Resort 2026. Australian Fashion Week. Photograph: Patrick Marion |
 |
| Romance Was Born, It's in the Trees, Resort 2026. Australian Fashion Week. Photograph: Nathan James |
 |
| Romance Was Born, It's in the Trees, Resort 2026. Australian Fashion Week. Photograph: Anna Nguyen |
 |
| Romance Was Born, It's in the Trees, Resort 2026. Australian Fashion Week. Photograph: Mohan Raj |
 |
| Romance Was Born, It's in the Trees, Resort 2026. Australian Fashion Week. Photograph: Patrick Marion |