Bodega By V NYFW DEBUT
Images by Torian Studios
Bodega By V made its New York Fashion Week debut on Tuesday at Hot Girl Fashion Show, displaying immense growth by Veronica Torres, designer and founder. Her first designs consisted of stylish corsets that any “it girl” would gravitate toward, but this S/S 2025 collection demonstrated that Torres isn’t just one note. Her design capabilities have evolved exponentially into a full ready-to-wear collection, inspired by her Dominican, Puerto Rican, and Chinese heritage. Even though the designer is evolving, corsets are still a permanent Bodega By V staple.
“Before I got here, I put my hand on a Vivian Westwood book and I prayed to the corset gods,” said Torres.
This collection includes Bodega By V’s signature piece—the corset—but it went further than that with clothing playing with proportions and draping. From the shimmering teal dress that opened the show, which had incredible ruching and featured a cowl back to the flower appliques adorning multiple designs to the “Wetting Dress”, a sheer bridal dress emulating the wet look, which closed the show.
“I've been doing a lot of research on the wet look, and it started as early as the 1600s with muslin. Women used to jump into fountains and be drenched in these paper-thin fabrics that accentuated their bodies once it was wet. And so I thought that was so risqué and so fun,” said Torres.
Torres became interested in bridal dresses when brides-to-be began reaching out to get custom looks. “I've been really blessed with brides who are trusting me to construct their dresses for their wedding. It's just so special,” said Torres. It could be said that the S/S 2025 collection included a micro-bridal collection, as Torres designed “something blue” with reworked fabrics and even played on the flower girl tradition by including real orchids preserved in resin that embellished corsets, made by jeweler Green is Gold.
Bodega By V uses all locally sourced fabrics, and this collection includes shimmering satins and brocades in loud colors as a nod to her heritage and glimmering cool tones that resemble bioluminescence. Torres explained that she drew inspiration from Mosquito Bay in Puerto Rico, a bay on the island of Vieques famous for its bioluminescence produced by phytoplankton.
“I tried to play off of those colors and the kind of movement of a flowing river that's bioluminescent,” said Torres.
Torres draws inspiration from many designers including Vivian Westwood, Versace, and Roberto Cavalli, but she explained that she doesn’t necessarily want to be trend-driven. “I think it's so important to take inspiration from the greats before you, but I think it's also important to get off of social media or Pinterest, even it could be great for inspiration, but sometimes it can block you and create opportunities for mimicking things. So the last few months, I forced myself not to be on social media, and the only thing that I really started watching was archival runway shows,” said Torres.
Torres wants Bodega By V to be clothing that you can live your life in. “I want things that people can literally put on and run out of the house and have a “Bodega” type of night,” said Torres. So why not live your life and look stylish while wearing Bodega By V.
