Romance Was Born’s Nothing Resort 25 show, led by Redken’s Diane Georgievski, fused the future with regal flashbacks and everywhere in between.

The show unleashed a massive lineup of 40 time-travelling, retro-futuristic space creatures amidst smoke and larger than life planetary sculptures. Some wafted ethereally by in chiffon and antique Venetian lace, with intricate beading, others swept past in voluminous silk bubble-hem gowns and sculptural quasi-capes and hats, encrusted in embellishment done by artisans in India. In shapes reminiscent of far-away planets, hair was detailed and driven by impressive variety.

Di’s approach to each look or ‘mood’ within the planetary discovery of the collection was equally as intricate. Playing between an almost light and dark, wet and dry moods and back to the 80s movies the designer duo discussed heavily in their collection brief, the whole aesthetic was referenced the movies they watched growing up as a kid and queried how to replace the imagination and creativity that can be lost in the world.

“The real hero look for the Romance Was born show was our ‘Blade Runner’s wet look’, inspired by the 1982 cult film. For this look hair was shaped into a square perimeter and an accent was gelled to the temple to give that real slick and tight Blade Runner look,” Di said.

“As always with Romance the hair direction was a sequence of looks, amassing five in total, which brought the true creativity out of a story heavily influenced by an intergalactic and futuristic fashion adventure; from regal planetary princesses and luminous ‘moon children’, to humanoid replicants searching for lost worlds.”

Out of all these directions on looks, sci-fi was a strong influence throughout the show, as a reference point and through smoke, props and a real intergalactic world throughout the show – hair had to play the part.

“We also had the ‘cosmic jesters’ dance and the ‘mysterious terrestrial delegates’ float along with their quilted space cocoons,” Di said.

To achieve these looks, Redken Root Lifter, Max Sculpting Gel and Fashion Work 12 Brushable Hairspray provided the perfect hold, texture and slicked down needed to master the five dynamic looks.

Many of Romance Was Born’s pieces from past collections have been acquired by the NGV, Powerhouse and New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. According to Anna Plunkett and Luke Sales, the brand’s long-standing dynamic duo, “first and foremost, we’re creatives, so we want to show more than just what you can buy at the shops. While we operate a ready-to-wear side with accessibly priced pieces, our one-off designs are thriving post-pandemic. In the last three years, we’ve noticed a huge uptake in our ‘one-off’ or ‘forever’ pieces, and that’s awesome because we love making them.”

For more information visit www.redken.com.au 

Read Full Post