Inside the Making of a Fashion Week Newspaper with Ronan Mckenzie

In the corner of Ronan Mckenzie's desk,  near to her sewing machine, there's a stack of folded, faded newspapers. "I'll fold them and as soon as something is folded, people just feel like they can touch it more," she says. "I think about that accessibility aspect of my work a lot: How can I show people immediately that they can engage with this thing?"

Ronan is a creative director and founder of the clothing label SELASI. The newspapers are her archive of SELASI Stories, which she publishes as an ongoing record of the ideas and process behind the brand.

“Something that I’m learning more and more is how important it is for people to see the journey,” she says.

In February 2026, SELASI had its first runway show as part of London Fashion Week. It was a huge moment for the brand and Ronan created as special edition of SELASI Stories, printed on our digital tabloids, to place on every seat at the event.

We visited her at her studio in Walthamstow the week after, to chat about this milestone and flip through her copies of SELASI Stories. It's the first episode in our new video series, This Is My Newspaper – and you can watch it on Instagram:

Keep scrolling to read the longer interview below, edited slightly for clarity.

Creating a collectible newspaper

SELASI Stories came about at the beginning of 2025, when I first started to think of SELASI as something I could do full time. I wanted to communicate more with people who were interested in what I was doing. I also have this beautiful wealth of imagery that I've worked on over the years.

SELASI imagery courtesy of Ronan Mckenzie

I collaborate with designer Shawn Sayers on the layouts for each issue. The way he's been able to translate the language and world of SELASI into print has been amazing. The newspaper is now a really big part of how I communicate SELASI. I want it to be something that's archival and episodic and people can build their collection over time.

I'm a really tactile person, which is why the newspaper means a lot to me. It's something you can touch and smell and it has its own character. I like to see them laid out, so then they get yellow because I've left them in the sun in my studio [laughs] But I like that, I like the way they wear.

"I think about [the] accessibility of my work a lot. How can I show people immediately that they can engage with this thing?"

There's a real everydayness to a newspaper. It's light, you can bend it and put it in your bag and come back to it and they still have such a beautiful quality. Even when they're sun-kissed or even when they've been in the corner of my studio for a few months.

I tend to fold them – so if I have them laid out somewhere, I'll fold them and as soon as something is folded people just feel like they can touch it more. And I think about that accessibility aspect of my work a lot, whether that's with garments or when I curate exhibitions or spaces, it's very much about: How can I show people immediately that they can engage with this thing?

Runway take-away

I recently had my first show at London Fashion Week, which is such a landmark moment.

Fashion shows are normally like 10 minutes long – people come in and they see the clothes and then that's kind of it. But my world is so much more immersive and it was really important to me that people had something they could take away.

To have SELASI Stories there was really important. Something that I'm learning more and more is how important it is for people to see the journey. It's easy for Instagram to just show best bits, and this is somewhere where I can really speak about the process.

Behind the cover

The reason I wanted to use this image for the front and back is – firstly, I love this tattoo that says 'Do or Die.' That was very much the energy of right now. I'm either going to do SELASI or it's over.

She has the perfect balance of softness and strength and I think embodying that feels very timely and it's often something that I'm playing with. Across the covers you can always see this play of power and softness – the models or people that I'm interested in often have that balance. So the cover is really powerful and the back is really soft.

Working with Newspaper Club

Printing with Newspaper Club has been incredible. The team is so supportive, and make sure the newspapers are never late – they always arrive on time. The print quality is amazing.

It feels like there's a real human collaboration and a value of craft. It's been wonderful and I'm excited for what it looks like when we're 100 issues in. Having the whole archive of SELASI Stories, and seeing them all together, is really indicative of where I've been and also really points to where I'm going. Maybe one day they'll be in the V&A! [laughs]

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