romance-was-born-autumn-fall-winter-2012-mbfwa5.jpg
For Australian Fashion Week, Romance Was Born designers Anna Plunkett and Luke Sales went all Jack Kirby with an “exuberant” mix of stripes and patterns.

What saved the collection from being an exercise in nostalgia was the finish and elevated production values behind the clothing. A paillette skirt and cape were works of chic elegance and embellished bustiers packed a punch. Romance Was Born has finally ditched the lingering atmosphere of students gone wild with a sewing machine and glue gun.


The models paraded in front of a backdrop by paper artist Benja Harvey.

Fashionising has the pictures. What say you—would you wear any of these?

romance-was-born-autumn-fall-winter-2012-mbfwa12.jpg

romance-was-born-autumn-fall-winter-2012-mbfwa15.jpg

romance-was-born-autumn-fall-winter-2012-mbfwa17.jpg

1 COMMENT

  1. Those are some of the best interpretations of comic book art into fashion that I’ve seen in a long while. I’d love to wear any number of the pieces… except those Red Hulk shorts. They’re angry pants!

  2. I think they all look fantastic. Would love to see people in those clothes, particularly given that they’re not too kitschy.

    Not too keen on those eyebrows, however…

  3. The mention of Jack Kirby in the article has been replaced by “Marvel Comics” – who apparently partnered with the designers.

    http://www.theaustralian.com.au/life/fashion/exuberant-dash-of-dots-and-stripes-at-mercedes-benz-fashion-week-australia/story-e6frg8k6-1226343118751

    To be fair, I found a video interview with one of the designers, Luke Sales, where he mentions Marvel, not Kirby.

    Where would Fashion Editor Damien Woolnough have gotten the idea that Jack Kirby was the inspiration and not Marvel Comics, I wonder?

  4. The background graphics suggest Kirby a bit. I’m not crazy about the fashions, but the woman wearing the long red arm bands and the white shoes is my fave, and her outfit does suggest Kirby a bit.

  5. Pretty interesting! As an artistic exercise/experiment, this is heading in a pretty cool direction. I like the use of comic book flourishes and abstract elements better than when superheroes are actually depicted. The latter feels more like grown-up underoos, but the former holds potential. I could actually envision a lot more they could have done in that regard … a whole outfit decorated with Kirby’s cosmic outer space graphics, for instance.