Major changemakers in Australian fashion, designers Anna Plunkett and Luke Sales founded Romance Was Born in 2005. Their extravagant vision is achieved through exquisite craftmanship, vibrant prints and glimmering embellishments, often produced in collaboration with Australian artists such as Ken Done, Del Kathryn Barton and Jenny Kee. The first Australian label to be included in one of New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute exhibitions, Romance Was Born have dressed high-profile people including Björk, Miley Cyrus, Caroline Kennedy and Cate Blanchett.
This portrait defies the limits of a singular photographic moment. Artist Samuel Hodge, a long-time collaborator of the pair, mined his personal archive to create this dual portrait that celebrates the 20-year anniversary of the brand. Deftly combining hundreds of photographs of the designers and their collections – from candid moments to backstage preparation and official campaigns – Hodge’s portrait is both intimate and expansive. Paying tribute to the dynamism, playfulness, vitality and chaos of creative practice, each photograph amassed in this work offers us a glimpse into the world of Romance Was Born but also Plunkett and Sales as people. From afar, these image fragments appear like luminous gemstones – a nod to the splendid, riotous colour that defines Romance Was Born’s designs.
Commissioned with funds provided by Hayley Baillie 2025
© National Portrait Gallery of Australia
The National Portrait Gallery respects the artistic and intellectual property rights of others. Works of art from the collection are reproduced as per the
Australian Copyright Act 1968 (Cth). The use of images of works from the collection may be restricted under the Act. Requests for a reproduction of a work of art can be made through a
Reproduction request. For further information please contact
NPG Copyright.
