Dreaming Eli is a London-based womenswear label founded in 2021 by Sicilian designer Elisa Trombatore.
In Elisa’s vision, garments are political acts – expressions of female survival, sensuality and self-definition. Her collections explore empowerment through contradiction, embodying the power, danger and beauty of femininity. Dreaming Eli is a manifesto for women to defy stereotypes, reclaim their truth and transform vulnerability into strength.
Elisa’s Sicilian heritage informs this vision, reflecting a culture of dualities: submissive yet passionate, yielding yet yearning, voiceless yet desired. From this emerges a focus on women who will not be tamed—where desire is visible, intimate and tempestuous.
Dreaming Eli’s lingerie-coded, couture-inflected collections are made entirely in London, using hand-dyeing, hand-distressing, pleating and patchworking to ensure each piece is unique. Romantic draping, dramatic volume and structured corsetry blend with underwear-inspired eveningwear, layered with silks, Chantilly lace, tulle, chiffon and satin, balancing fragility with power. Lace-up adjustability ensures a fit for real bodies and longevity through design.
Occupying a rare space in contemporary womenswear, Dreaming Eli marries sensuality and craft, translating visceral and literary moods into demi-couture romanticism.
Elisa graduated from the MA Fashion course at Central Saint Martins in 2021, supported by the Isabella Blow Foundation. Dreaming Eli debuted the same year at London Fashion Week’s Discovery Lab and now showcases biannually on schedule, including its first on-schedule catwalk show in September 2025.
Supported by WHITE in Milan since 2022, the brand has also appeared at Paris Fashion Week as part of the BFC’s LONDON SHOW ROOMS for Spring/Summer 2026. Dreaming Eli has dressed talent including Kylie Jenner, Tate McRae, Lizzo, Raye, Rita Ora, Julia Fox and Zara Larsson.
