Dreams can come true. Romance Was Born's epic collaboration with Australian contemporary artist Paul Yore made up the brand's AW23 collection 'Stronger Together'. Styled by 10 favourite Peter Simon Phillips, the show was held at Carriageworks, inside Yore's new installation 'Word Made Flesh'. Featuring a series of hand-painted gowns intricately beaded, and upcycled vintage pieces like military uniforms and floral silk quilts, the collaboration is a long time coming for RWB's Luke Sales and Anna Plunkett, who have been looking to incorporate Yore's iconic slogans into the world of Romance. “We have been wanting to collaborate with Paul Yore on a collection for some time," says Luke and Anna. "We adore his incredible and provocative art and are super excited and honoured to be working with him to align with Sydney World Pride. All our amazing talent in the show have been cast from the community and embody what Romance Was Born stands for - inclusivity, love and happiness. Stronger Together is a celebration of life, loving who you want and feeling what you feel."  We spoke to Luke about the celebratory collection below:

The show was incredible! How did you feel seeing this collaboration finally come to life?

"We have actually been working on this collab for a long time, and for various reasons it keeps being bumped out. It was never intended to be a collection that would have a show element to it. However when we herd paul was doing the show here in Sydney we thought its a too good of an opportunity to not do something and being during World Pride as well it was super exciting to do a show outside the schedule and try something new. It definitely felt very different."

What did you learn from Paul while working with him on this collection?

"Maybe not to be so precious... the dress that opened the show was bias cut and hand beaded onto an antique jacquard fabric which sounds to me like it deserves a very neatly finished hem... We would have never normally leave a raw edge on a dress like that, but it looked fab in the context of paul's work. It might not sound like a big deal, but a raw edge is not very RWB, historically. Anyways we joked about it and decided to leave it raw edged and as it turned out it was my favourite dress in the show."‍

Do you have a favourite of Paul's slogans?

“'The truth is out there' - it's such a funny X Files reference, but it's also very poignant - but at the same time uplifting and encouraging. It speaks to me on many levels and is a really great representation of Paul's work."

What were you listening to while you designed this collection?

Anna: "Weyes Blood."

Luke: "Caroline Polachek."‍

How did you feel seeing your pieces on such a brilliant cast?

"The human body transforms a garment no matter who is wearing it, but our awesome cast were so excited and happy to be part of the show. It was so transformative and they really became these characters that looked like they would live in this Paul Yore world. We were so excited before the show, we are usually nervous but everyone was so excited. It felt more like a party than a work event as corny as that might sound."‍

What are you most excited about at Sydney World Pride?

"Seeing Sydney come back to life and people out on the streets enjoying the city once again. And the positive vibes of course!!!"

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