Vivid Sydney: 'House of Romance' is a true spectacle

Vivid Sydney has revealed its first ever high-profile fashion collaboration with Romance Was Born taking over the projection at Customs House.
The fabulous eight-minute show is a riot of whimsy and colour, trailing through the label’s many famous collaborations.
It makes a strong case for more fashion at Vivid Sydney, injecting a great deal of life and wonder onto the Vivid Light Walk.
READ MORE: The ultimate guide to Vivid Sydney.

Romance Was Born plays with size, scale and colour in Vivid Sydney’s first-ever high-profile fashion collaboration. The famously innovative label is in charge of the Customs House projection, House of Romance: Dream Collide, at Vivid Sydney this year, presenting a captivating riot of Ice Vovo-inspired frocks, crochet collages, underwater reefs and decorative carousels.

The Customs House projection has always been one of the most popular features of the Vivid Light Walk given it stands directly opposite Circular Quay Station, and has a big viewing area out the front. It’s a good thing then, that House of Romance is the perfect representation for exactly what makes the light walk one of the most magical art trails in the world: life, ambition, scale, surrealism and wonder.

Customs House is always fun, but label founders Luke Sales and Anna Plunkett have doubled down on the whimsy and style by drawing upon their own designs, taking inspiration from many different aspects of pop culture, from film and art to childhood nostalgia. At one point you’ll see Customs House’s ornate sandstone and granite facade completely papered in feather, multi-coloured frocks. At another, a smaller, more intimate depiction of a carousel dancing between the building’s ionic columns.

*Luke Sales and Anna Plunkett in front of one of their most ambitious projects to date (photo: Destination NSW).*

It’s not like Customs House ceases to operate during Vivid Sydney either. Despite the projection, you’ve still got people walking in and out of the doorway. The light from the entrance adds another fantastical element to the display, which was worked up in collaboration with immersive studio, Supergiant.

The kaleidoscopic projection was turned on earlier this week for a special media preview ahead of the full shebang. Vivid Sydney starts this Friday, May 23 and it’s more than likely that House of Romance will emerge as the most popular of all the Vivid Light Walk projections.

That said, we’re yet to see what Vandal have in store when they fill the Opera House sails with an artistic tribute to David McDiarmind and his Kiss of Light series, and we were also quite taken with Vincent Namatjira’s incredible Museum of Contemporary Art projection, King Dingo, when we saw it at the media preview on Monday evening.

Romance Was Born turns 20 this year, so its only fitting that Luke and Anna give Vivid Sydney its first proper foray into the fashion world. Perhaps it’ll even lead to “fashion” being the fifth pillar for Vivid moving forward, complementing the already existing pillars of light, music, ideas and food. After all, Vivid Sydney occurs shortly after AFC Australian Fashion Week at Carriageworks.

*Romance Was Born bring drama, whimsy and so much colour to Customs House (photo: Destination NSW).*

The entire eight-minute show has been cobbled together as a fluid homage to Romance Was Born’s many collaborations across the past two decades. Everything is there, referencing some of the label’s greatest hits including partnerships with leading Australian designers Ken Done, Del Kathryn Barton, Jenny Kee, Paul Yore and Jonathan Zawada.

“We are inspired by everything from music, film, food, people on the street, characters in film, museum collections, and of course art,” said Romance Was Born in a past interview.

“There is no end to our inspiration, almost to the point where it becomes a hindrance more than a help.”

Luke and Anna’s multi-faceted, poppy approach to fashion is obvious during the projection. It’s all over the place, and yet, it doesn’t seem like a hindrance at all. All these gorgeous colours are corralled into the type of chaos that feels appropriately full, rich with a personality that’s brighter and more upbeat than any Customs House projection to date. And with the gorgeous neon blue of the AMP building standing imposingly in the background, the whole scene is

Show up early and get a view without the crowds. This is one you’re definitely going to want to see.