This past year, Dimitra Petsa has been reading a lot about love: from romance to divine modes of sexuality, Venus in Furs, erotic literature, and sexual theory. She has also been writing a book—coming out this year—about this collection’s very concept: seeking to find the sovereignty of female sexuality and desire once again.
Though dressing is so personal and inherently erotic, the female gaze, both sensual and sartorial, feels lost to Petsa. “We don’t really see our desire or carnal feminine sexuality,” the Greek designer said in the days before the show. “There are so many elements of visual language in fashion and art that signal a monoculture—I want to enrich our vocabulary with a woman’s perspective.”
This fall 2025 collection, titled “Reflections of Desire,” brought archetypes of sexuality and the social structures that may constrict them to the forefront. Each of her models played a character: introspective writers and artists searching for their own sexual needs; muses that articulate our most bold and deviant wants; historical and mythical idols. Petsa plucked these medieval and religious iconographies out to subvert histories that actively corked female desire. Ayra Starr and Mia Khalifa walked and one model, when presented with a flower from the audience, returned the gift with a kiss. There was an archangel of love with draped heart-shaped wings, and female and male “knights in shining armor” brandishing ornate jeweled swords, swathed in chainmail and handcarved silver metal torsos made entirely by Petsa herself.
Bridalwear continues to be an area of fascination and innovation for the designer. “Women are told not to be narcissists, socialized to avoid self pleasure or occupying space,” she said. “Traditionally, the wedding is the one time it’s okay to have all eyes on her—the desire to be seen, all through the act of marrying a man. I wanted to twist this psyche.” Multiple brides featured in the show in body-sculpting dresses studded with pearls and fine silver chains—one was flanked by a troupe of male “flower girls” in lacey underpants.
This was also a moment of self-reflection, articulated in Petsa’s own writing, that appeared as a motif through the collection. A pair of low-rise trousers featured an open book on the crotch; a bra had script as nipple pasties—speaking to the eroticism of being “read” and known. Moving on from last season’s tan-line designs, a new print featured kisses from Petsa’s own lips. She spent hours kissing paper and ran down her favorite lipstick. “I always want to be very emotionally involved in my collections,” she said. “I was heartbroken when making that print. I think you can feel the intensity of it. I was stepping into a new version of myself—they’re kisses of hope.”
Menswear continued to develop, with thigh-sliced black suiting and chest-baring, oxblood knits. Returning model and muse James Corbin walked the procession in a clerical-like chocolate brown cloak. Tailoring evolved too: straight wool blend coats incorporated sumptuous black velvets and delicate silver jewelry, and leather draped coats were caressed with vegan fur that spoke to untamable carnal demands. The signature wet look dresses appeared in sensual, gradient reds, black, and earthy brown. Details were kinky: barely-there lace on the nipples, jewelry connected from the pelvis to the throat. “Sensuality and eroticism are a source of infinite knowledge and creative liberation,” said the designer.
There were fewer looks than in previous seasons, as the designer wished to spend real time with each of the characters in the Myth of Di Petsa. For Petsa, now a graduate of NewGen, this was an ode to unapologetic women seeking their most divine selves.
