Three moons, softly glowing like they do on a clear night, greeted guests as they walked into Romance Was Born’s resort 2025 show. Designers Anna Plunkett and Luke Sales have often explored fantasy lands and utopias, and did so again this season, inspired by the work of the Indigenous Australian artist Zaachariaha Fielding. “He is super positive and is very much trying to bring everyone together with his work,” Plunkett said backstage. “We’ve never worked with an indigenous artist before. This year we had a referendum [to constitutionally recognize the rights of Indigenous people that didn’t pass], and we just felt that more than ever it was the right time to do it.”
The designers met Fielding a few years ago through mutual friends and were delighted to find out he was a fan of their label. Their collaboration yielded some of the most extraordinary pieces in the collection—each one different from the next. A cropped jacket with oversized sculptural shoulders had some of Fielding’s paintings strategically placed to follow its silhouette. It was paired with white polka dotted trousers for a very 1980s Lacroix look. Elsewhere, an off-the-shoulder neon green ball gown featured a similar print—blown up to match the dress’s volume—intricately embellished with sequins and beads. On chiffon caftans Fielding’s paintings were the ultimate expression of a bohemian goddess, although because this was Romance Was Born, they paired them retro-sneakers and little socks.
The inspiration for the rest of the show came through classic sci-films from the 1980s like Blade Runner, The Lost Boys, and The Neverending Story (they named the collection “the nothing,” the destructive force in the movie that takes away the ability of living things to dream and hope for the future). It was evident in details like the aforementioned polka dotted fabrics, and their experiments with deconstructed bomber jackets—most notably dresses made from spliced bomber bodices and intricately embroidered lace, or a balloon sleeve shrug made with multi-color patchwork squares sourced from old jackets the designers found on eBay.
Most remarkable were the pieces that captured Sales and Plunkett’s dream world while remaining grounded in real life. Gray wool tailored jackets and structured shirts had a slight retro-futurist feel, and beaded lace tunics worn with acid washed peg leg jeans, or similarly embellished trousers, had obvious multi-generational appeal.
