The Bite Magazine - Autumn/Winter 2025 - Issue 38

Mia Zhang provides a catwalk review on designer DAVII’s AW25 ‘POËT’ collection shown at Milan Fashion Week. AVII POËT bitefashion D I n a season where futurism and rebellion dominated the Milan runways, DAVII offered a different language. With his AW25 collection, ‘POËT’, designer Davide Grillo presented an ode to restraint, exploring elegance as the moment between silence and expression. If other de- signers this season sculpted speed, DAVII sculpted pause. The collection marks a new chapter in the label’s evo- lution, a deliberate expansion that feels grounded and ethereal. After debuting the line earlier this year in Chi- na, the brand returns with a more expansive vocabulary, introducing knitwear, leather, and technical nylon into its existing lexicon of architectural tailoring. The result is not simply growth in category, but a deepening of tone. ‘POËT’ feels like the continuation of a sentence begun sea- sons ago, one that now speaks with greater nuance, clarity, and quiet power. DAVII has always existed at the intersection of minimal- ism and emotion. The house is known for its sharp sil- houettes, monochrome precision, and sculptural drape, but what distinguishes it is how human it remains. Under- neath the precision lies a pulse. In this collection, duality becomes almost cinematic: the dialogue between form and feeling, between the rational and the romantic, the palette sets the mood immediately. In black and white, DAVII’s DNA remain the structural bones of the collection, grounding its identity in clarity and contrast. Around them bloom cream and burgun- dy hues that feel like memory or echo: a reminder that warmth can coexist within structure. The unexpected arrival of powder pink faux fur becomes a signature mo- ment, a blush of tenderness that softens the architectural rigour. It’s a gesture of femininity that’s neither sentimen- tal nor ornamental, but rather a meditation on the power of touch. One of the looks features a fluid ivory knit slipping be- neath a sharply tailored black leather jacket. The juxtapo- sition of softness and restraint conjures the image of vul- nerability armoured. In another, a long cream coat falls in disciplined folds, cinched at the waist with a narrow burgundy belt, a study in proportion that feels sculptural and sensual. This poetry is not in words but instead in line and texture. Where many contemporary brands lean into spectacle, DAVII turns inward. The craftsmanship is immaculate with seams so clean they feel meditative, and fabrics that breathe. Even the introduction of nylon, a material often associated with utility, becomes lyrical here, transformed into fluid technical garments that move like smoke. It’s fashion stripped of noise, distilled to essence. That purity is deceptive, because it conceals a complex construction. The expansion into knitwear and leather represents a more holistic embodiment. Knitwear intro- duces softness, elasticity, and rhythm; leather brings den- sity and permanence; and nylon suggests modernity and speed. Together, they compose a wardrobe of controlled contrasts, garments that live at the intersection of disci- pline and dream. The name ‘POËT’ encapsulates the spirit of the collection. It’s not merely a metaphor for beauty; it’s a statement about how beauty is made. Poetry, after all, depends on rhythm and restraint, on choosing what to say and what to with- hold. So too does this collection. Every hem, pleat, and fold feels like a carefully chosen word. The garments artic- ulate, carrying the conviction that sophistication doesn’t need to demand attention. The use of faux fur rather than animal fur underscores a humane elegance, one that val- ues consciousness as part of beauty. There’s a subtle confi- dence in how DAVII handles this with no declarations, no slogans, just conviction woven into the fabric. COLLECTION