2025
What if the deep-ones’ hybrid offspring wore couture? What if the transformation from human to something else were not just biological but sartorial?
In a foggy maritime underworld of jagged rocks and ambient sounds of crashing waves, models crawled, slithered, and contorted themselves forward in the Elena Velez Fall 2025 Ready to Wear collection (“Leech.”) Opening the show was Anna Delvey—ankle monitor and all—a bizarre yet somehow fitting choice for a collection that seems to revel in subverting expectations. I don’t know why I am still laughing about that, but I am.
The collection feels like it was salvaged from some ancient shipwreck—tattered sails repurposed into flowing garments, rope elements that both bind and decorate, metal pieces catching what little light existed in the space. Some looks featured these seaweed-like textures that seemed to cling to the models like they’d just emerged from the deep.
The “maritime abyss” setting, complete with fog and rocky shores, could easily be the misty coastline where the Marsh family made their unholy pact. Even the three personas—especially “The Land Walker”—echo the uncanny transition states of Innsmouth’s inhabitants, neither fully human nor fully transformed. The collection seems to celebrate rather than fear this metamorphosis, though, reclaiming the power in becoming something other. The residents of the half-submerged coastal town have hiding their gills and webbed fingers and decided to make it fashion!
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Ash Story says
Love, love, love this. I'm obsessed with these looks now.
Emera says
Wretched and sublime!! The hair styling is perfect, too. Love the ghost maiden at the end.
So insane that they included Anna Delvey.
Sam will says
Elena Velez’s “Leech” collection feels like haunting maritime folklore brought to life—where decay, transformation, and couture collide. The deep-sea aesthetic is eerie, theatrical, and strangely mesmerizing in its rebellion.
Sam will says
Absolutely captivating review! The haunting maritime theme and transformation concept were described so vividly. Elena Velez’s collection sounds bold, eerie, and unforgettable—fashion storytelling at its most imaginative and powerful.