22 February 2026 |
There’s a tenderness that runs through Ronan McKenzie’s work. Whether it’s her photographs, which come bathed in the most beautiful light, or with her brand Selasi, which for the first time showed as part of the official London Fashion Week schedule this season. Her clothes feel intimate and her approach is instinctive. Jersey and buttery leathers are often draped on the body, pinned, tucked and gathered in gorgeous formations.
Her practice is also shaped by personal experience. With this collection, McKenzie was thinking about her school days at Walthamstow School for Girls where she excelled at athletics (paying a visit to her old stomping grounds earlier this year, an old teacher revealed McKenzie still held the borough record in hurdles/triple jump). She was given old P.E. kits from the school that she collaged together to make dresses and skirts that jutted at the hips.
Lauren Beharie of the English National Ballet opened the show en pointe, followed by sculptural leathers and dresses that twisted and turned around the body. McKenzie also upcycled a series of all white tracksuits courtesy of Pangaia, worn by members of an outdoors collective called Athene Club (they also wore shoes by Ecco). McKenzie’s mum walked the show in a standout ruched leather track jacket that migrated into a trench coat, paired nicely with chocolate brown trousers that ballooned at the leg. It was a strong outing that continued to define McKenzie as one of the city’s most interesting creatives.
Photography courtesy of Selasi.
