Dreaming Eli's Trombatore Unveils Goth Bridal Corsetry at Candlelit London Runway

Goth Marie Antoinette vibes" and "candlelit corsetry" set the tone as Trombatore, Dreaming Eli’s founder and designer, presents the autumn/winter 2026 collection titled The Court of the Maddest, Merriest Things Alive at the Beaconsfield Gallery in London. The candlelit runway amplified the collection’s contrast of romance and edge across a tightly edited sequence of bridal-inflected looks.

Trombatore, a Central Saint Martins MA Fashion programme graduate, framed Dreaming Eli around themes of female empowerment, sensuality and resilience, drawing on Sicilian heritage and its tensions between softness and defiance. The designer, who launched at London Fashion Week’s Discovery Lab in 2021 with support from the Isabella Blow Foundation, now shows biannually on schedule and has steadily built international recognition while retaining an exclusive quality.

Production and construction were foregrounded in the show; pieces are made entirely in London and many incorporate "lace-up adjustability designed to accommodate different body shapes and extend a garment’s lifespan." That practical rigour was visible in visible corsetry and considered finishes that suggested longevity rather than spectacle.

Key looks threaded theatricality with technical detail. Raw-edged lace appeared "coiled like twine around boned corsets" while shredded lace and lingerie-as-gown silhouettes reworked underpinnings into eveningwear. A sheer ivory strapless look featured delicate black hook fastenings running vertically down the torso, and lace panels frayed into asymmetric garter details that trailed down the legs in a deliberate "controlled unravelling."

Accessories and millinery intensified the collection’s devotional register: one model’s face was partially veiled in lace beneath a crown of thorn-like branches, a headpiece that lent a "devotional, almost martyr-like quality" to the bridal tableau. Another garment used cascading ruffles and exposed lacing down the back to emphasize what reviewers described as "vulnerability made visible."

The show closes with Trombatore joining a model on the runway in matching corseted mini silhouettes - one in black lace, the other in ivory - a staging choice presented as a visual underscore of solidarity and female strength. That final tableau brought the collection’s contrasts into a single, intimate moment in the candlelit space.

Outside the gallery, a detailed thread about the FW26 collection garners thousands of likes and reposts from a fashion stylist account, extending the conversation online. The brand’s roster of clients, including Kylie Jenner, Lizzo and Julia Fox, and its evolution since the 2021 Discovery Lab debut signal Dreaming Eli’s widening reach even as Trombatore keeps production local and craft-led in London. The designer’s insistence that clothing function as "an evolving companion rather than disposable spectacle" was evident in both silhouette and finish.