Romance Was Born closed the resort 2026 shows at Australian Fashion Week with an emotional collection that ranged from the dramatic to the humorous in a way that only Luke Sales and Anna Plunkett can manage. It started with the Ballets Russes, which did three deeply influential tours in Australia between 1936 and 1940.
“The National Gallery of Australia has one of the largest collections of Ballet Russes costumes in the world, and we went to see it,” Sales said in their studio the day before the show. “Anna’s always wanted to do a Ballet collection and it’s our 20th anniversary…” Plunkett continued his thought: “We were thinking about how they worked with different artists, and that’s something we’ve always done; and Luke’s super obsessed with Art Nouveau and Leon Bakst’s illustrations—which were the starting point for silhouettes and colors.”
From there, the duo’s lineup emerged as “costumes” for characters in the Romance Was Born universe. “Nostalgia is a really big thing for us—it always has been—so it’s Ballet Russes through remembering our childhood,” said Sales. There were gowns inspired by vintage toys like the Fisher Price phone/car with googly eyes, Rainbow Brite, Polly Pocket, He-Man and Masters of the Universe, and Peaches n’ Cream Barbie, adapting their iconography to RWB’s intricately beaded style.
Their signature take on Australian flora and fauna came through in a series of gowns inspired by Christmas Beetles, which, noted Plunkett “are super beautiful, but are becoming extinct, and you don’t see them much anymore.” In the studio, their moodboard was lined with different kinds of beetles, each more beautiful than the next. For these they looked to the sculptural shapes of classic couturiers like Yves Saint Laurent, Emanuel Ungaro, and Cristobal Balenciaga, as well as artist Laura Jones, who’s known for her expressionist still lifes of flowers. Jones hand-painted some exquisite taffeta gowns, while on other pieces, her paintings were interpreted in colorful beading.
On the runway, a night scene had been set up: a winding path surrounded by snow and a series of tall trees that weren’t so much eerie as mysterious. “Like you’re out playing and you’ve been so consumed by what you’re doing and suddenly it’s really dark and you’re just rushing home on your bike,” Sales said. A dancer opened the show, and models walked the runway slowly, taking the time to strike dramatic poses. Among the opulent gowns, a series of embellished plaid shirts reconstructed into bodices and mini skirts stood out, as did a series of more casual ensembles that included embellished jeans.
By the time the show closed with Kate Bush’s “Hounds of Love,” emotions had crescendoed throughout the room. Plunkett and Sales weren’t the only designers who cited nostalgia at Sydney’s shows, but they were the only ones that managed to evoke in their audience—or at least this editor—that child-like feeling of being awestruck at things so beautiful that they feel magical. In each floral embroidery, ruffled chiffon, or intricately beaded little hat, unfurled a complete world of imagination.
