All Rise for Dreaming Eli’s Court of the Maddest, Merriest Things Alive | AW26

For Autumn/Winter 2026, Dreaming Eli stages a darkly romantic manifesto on female alliance. Titled The Court of the Maddest, Merriest Things Alive, the collection marks a defining moment for founder Elisa Trombatore, celebrating her creative and emotional union with art director Arian De Vos. What unfolds on the runway is not a traditional court of hierarchy, but a sisterhood bound by polarity, tension and devotion.

Set against a candlelit runway framed by brick walls, the atmosphere felt ritualistic. Models emerged like characters in a gothic fairytale, each embodying a different archetype within this contemporary court. The opening looks established the brand’s signature codes: mini corset dresses in distressed lace, sheer bodysuits layered beneath shredded silk, and bloomers reimagined as rebellious heirlooms. Fabrics appeared lived-in burned, ripped, hand-crushed as though each garment carried its own history.

Lace was layered in soft, neutral tones before deepening into inky blacks and oil-slick vinyl. A new short-haired stretch faux fur added a velvety, almost sporty contrast, while hybrid motorcycle jackets fused corsetry with leather-effect lace embossing. Denim, upcycled and hand-painted, introduced a raw counterpoint to the collection’s delicacy.

Volume played a starring role – skirts nodded to Marie Antoinette’s court dress, ballooning outward before collapsing into distressed drapery. Draped gowns in thin silks floated beside sharply tailored trousers, reinforcing the dialogue between softness and structure. Throughout, Trombatore’s fascination with contradiction innocence and eroticism, fragility and dominance remained noticeable.

Accessories pushed the narrative further. In collaboration with Harry Mack, 3D-printed pearl-infused body jewellery and thorn-like headpieces wrapped around torsos and temples, evoking both constraint and reclamation. Pearls encrusted damaged fabrics, suggesting that beauty could emerge precisely where something had been broken.

The final procession shifted into full theatricality: sheer black gowns clung like shadow, while a closing nude-toned draped dress shimmered with spectral romance. When the designer took her bow alongside De Vos, the message was clear this was not simply a collection, but a declaration. In Dreaming Eli’s court, power is not solitary; it is shared, layered and defiantly alive.