The Bite Magazine - Autumn/Winter 2025 - Issue 38

bitecatwalk D reaming Eli’s AW25 show arrived with a raw, undeniable presence felt even before the first model stepped onto the runway. The atmosphere carried a confident charge: sheer, body-defining garments, towering platform heels, and an unflinching focus on what the body can reveal, assert, and reclaim. What made this season compelling was intent. Each look told its own story, spotlighting a specific part of the body, a shoulder, a rib cage, a thigh, a back, as if the garment were celebrat- ing rather than concealing. The collection opened with dresses draped across the tor- so, dropping open at the ribs. Mesh exposed skin, while boning traced the body’s contours. One look centred on the spine: sheer black fabric layered over subtle corsetry, platform heels elevating the arch and back, making every movement deliberate. Another shifted focus to the thigh: a slash-cut knit dress, transparent, slit high, fabric pulled with each step. Shoulders and collarbones followed with straps slipping off one side, lace revealing skin beneath. The sequence became a series of distinct body stories, rather than a uniform collection. Mega-height, chunky, and commanding platform heels altered how garments moved and how the body carried itself. Each reveal, thigh exposed, a shoulder bare, a back stretched, was amplified by the elevated silhouette, turning exposure into ritual. Fabrication of mesh, lace, sheer knits, and gauze overlays reinforced the message, revealing yet constructed. Raw-edge hems and distressed seams contrasted with sculptural boning and structured frames. A red dress, threaded like veins across the skin; another, nude mesh, bare the body almost entirely, anchored only by a thick strap across the ribs. The focus on the body itself was literal. The colour palette consisted of deep black, blood red, and skin-tone nude. Darkness against flesh became a visual language. The bare flesh looked intentional, framed by darker tones, highlighted by red. It was about seeking comfort in being visible, claiming presence. The models strode, inhabiting space, commanding the platform. In a season where many softened their narratives, Dreaming Eli did not. This visibility was power, which saw the body as a story, the body in control rather than risk. Those pieces focusing on shoulders, thighs, ribs, and backs weren’t decorative but emphatic statements. Fash- ion here moved beyond ornament. Dreaming Eli AW25 declared fashion as identity: every look targeted the body in motion, focus, and power. https://www.dreamingeli.com DREAMING ELI FASHION WEEK LONDON Autumn/Winter 2025