Romance Was Born Create Bespoke Costumes For QT Hotel’s Directors Of Chaos

Romance Was Born and QT Hotels have collaborated to create the QT Director of Chaos Collection, a capsule line that will be worn exclusively by the hotel’s charismatic front door hosts in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth.  The designers have also created bespoke pieces for QT Sydney’s historic cabinets, which will adorn the Market Street restaurant Parlour Cucina from Thursday 23^rd January.

In a partnership that brings together the Australian fashion house known for their extravagant pieces of wearable art with Australia’s leading design-led hotel, the once red-wigged ‘Directors of Chaos’ who have become accidental celebrities around the hotels’ CBD locations, will hang up their old outfits for the bold prints and dramatic silhouettes created by Romance Was Born.

The designer duo behind the brand, Anna Plunkett and Luke Sales, are themselves regular guests of QT Hotels and drew upon the unique locations, quirky interiors and artistic motifs of each property as inspiration for the collection. From the West Australian native Black Cockatoos that adorn the walls throughout QT Perth, to the majestic peacock statue that sits proudly within the QT Melbourne lobby and the theatrical history of QT Sydney’s origins in the State Theatre and Gowings department store; each bespoke print brings to life the story behind a QT property.

Fusing modern, functional designs with the romance of hotel uniforms from a by-gone era, the collection features six core pieces.  The looks include high-waisted black sateen trousers, a sharp cut blazer with a long tail and ornate buttons, pussy-bow blouse with sheer, billowed sleeves and a cropped cape that fastens with a velvet button.  To complete the outfit, the Directors of Chaos will wear a brimless bell-boy cap embellished true to Romance Was Born’s style with native flora from each hotel’s home state.

Since the inception of the role of Director of Chaos at QT Sydney seven years ago, the friendly faces have been the pinnacle of QT’s signature service, prompting conversation, leaving a memorable impression on guests.

Romance Was Born designer Anna Plunkett said of the collection, “Collaboration is elemental to our process and brand, we seek collaborations that offer inspiration from outside the fashion sphere. For us the interest lies in bringing our ideas to an unfamiliar industry and adapting what we do, the highlight is seeing our work in a new context. In working with QT Hotels, we wanted to celebrate the glamour of travel and the exotic sense of occasion and luxury you feel when you step into a QT Hotel foyer.”

Victoria Doidge, Director of Brand QT Hotels & Resorts said, “It was an honour to collaborate with Romance Was Born. Our Directors of Chaos are in many ways the face of QT Hotels, so it was important to us to get their new costumes right and reflect the evolution of our brand and its creative, quirky spirit.  I don’t think there is another brand that would have captured the essence of QT Hotels like Anna and Luke have done.”

The Cabinets of Magic and Curiosity – Rainbow Boudoir at QT Sydney

We were inspired by the glamour of travel from a bygone era, from a time when you might mingle with movie stars from the silver screen or worldly diplomats would be lounging in the hotel bar or passing importantly through the foyer. Of course, we see the outfits, well cut suits, satin gowns, gloves, hats and sparkling jewels. We curated a collection of trinkets, objects of beauty and teamed them with some of our favourite couture outfits from past collections.

The Director of Chaos Collection prints

The Sydney Print:

Wattle, waratahs and magic; Sydney’s flamboyant spirit is captured by the razzamatazz of yesteryear. The iconic heritage architecture of the Gowings Building and the renowned State Theatre typifies this glamour. Sydney’s theatre district and the use of rabbits throughout the décor in QT Sydney, inspires the theatrical reference of the magician’s rabbit, wand and top hat, which appears among the floral sprays of wattle and the magnificent waratah.

The Melbourne Print:

Pink heath and peacocks; Melbournians love their fashion, art and design, they are known for their style, “peacocking” about town. None can miss the majestic peacock that stands sentinel in QT’s Melbourne foyer and so the peacock simply had to parade across the print with the Epacris impressa or pink heath.

The Perth Print:

Kangaroo paw and Black-Cockatoos; wonderful landscape is the call of the West, their endless pristine coastlines and wild bushlands that lead into stunning desert vistas are an undeniable influence on Perth’s laid-back cosmopolitan style. This is evoked in the kangaroo paws and the cheeky squawk of the Black-Cockatoo.