There’s a quiet moment just before sleep takes over. Your body rests, but your mind starts to drift. Logic fades away, and the impossible starts to feel real. This in-between space is exactly where designer Ronia Desai finds inspiration. Her debut collection, BedtimeStory, brings this delicate transition to life through garments that feel both familiar and fantastical.
At just 24 years old, Ronia has already developed a clear creative voice. With BedtimeStory, she transforms everyday clothing into surreal, story-filled pieces. “The collection is all about the seconds of falling asleep,” she explains. “That strange moment between being awake and dreaming.” For Ronia, this theme speaks to something deeper. As children, we’re encouraged to imagine, to dream big, and to play. But growing up often means letting go of that sense of wonder. This collection challenges that idea by turning the ordinary into something magical.
Photographer: Vivien Krasselt
Ronia reimagines classic garments like jeans, blouses, and suits. But in her world, a suit and blouse might have spikes bursting from the seams, and a skirt could have hair growing from its surface. A belt is shaped to resemble the body of a centaur, and suit trousers and a blouse hint at mythical hooves. One dress appears to split open down the back, symbolizing the feeling of sleep paralysis. It may look tight and restrictive, but it’s made from stretchy fabric that moves with the body. Each piece carries a subtle tension between comfort and unease, reality and fantasy.
Her interest in mythological creatures, like centaurs and satyrs, comes from a childhood filled with fantasy books and movies. She loved escaping into other worlds through stories like Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, and The Last Unicorn. These stories didn’t have to make sense, and that freedom became a huge part of her creative process. “You don’t literally see a satyr on the runway,” she says, “but the details—spikes, textures, hair—give the feeling of something from another realm.”
Photographer: Vivien Krasselt
Surrealist art also plays a role. The “Bambi Bag,” one of the standout accessories in the collection, has six long legs and a pierced ear. It was inspired by Salvador Dali’s painting The Elephants, but with a playful and modern twist. “It’s a dream creature,” she says, “and I wanted it to feel both strange and familiar.”
Ronia’s approach to design is both imaginative and methodical. To develop BedtimeStory, she pulled together over 1,000 images that had inspired her over the years. She printed them out, sorted them into categories like materials, silhouettes, and styling, and created a collage-style inspiration booklet. This process helped her make sense of the ideas swirling in her mind and allowed her to define the visual and emotional world she wanted to build.
Photographer: Vivien Krasselt
Her creative journey began early. At age 10, she started making dresses out of newspaper and bed sheets with help from her grandmother. “I loved the freedom to create whatever I wanted,” she says. That same freedom is still present in her work today. Even though she now has formal training from studying in Düsseldorf, Berlin, and Milan, and has completed an internship in Los Angeles, Ronia continues to value play, intuition, and storytelling.
What makes BedtimeStory stand out is the message behind it. Ronia wants people to dress for themselves, not for trends. “As kids, we just wore what we liked, without worrying what others thought. Now, most people try to fit in,” she says. “I hope someone opens their closet, sees a plain white shirt and a shirt with weird spikes, and picks the one with spikes.”
Photographer: Vivien Krasselt
This collection is more than just clothes. It’s a gentle rebellion against fast fashion and sameness. It’s a reminder to stay curious, to hold onto the stories we loved as children, and to bring those stories into how we dress today.
Right now, Ronia is planning her first launch event, where her pieces will be available for purchase. She’s also working on a jewelry line and thinking about what’s next for BedtimeStory. One day, she hopes to collaborate with other creatives and bring her collection to the runway.
Wherever this journey leads, BedtimeStory has already created a space where fashion feels like dreaming with your eyes open. In Ronia Desai’s world, the surreal isn’t something to fear—it’s something to wear.