London Fashion Week returns with a line-up that moves from postal theatrics to sculptural dioramas, from Milanese cherubs to Yemeni souks. Below, see the runways, presentations, and immersive installations we’re most excited about.
Maximilian Raynor is posting one last kiss
Homegrown favourite Maximilian Raynor is returning with another camp runway collection, this time entitled Post Me One Last Kiss. We’ve already had a sneak peek at the collection via the photography competition the designer ran in collaboration with BRICKS, where contestants were invited to shoot a limited-edition t-shirt by Raynor, taking visual inspiration from a postal stamp. The winner, Shennelle Wellington, will be enjoying her view from the front row as she gets the first glimpse of the runway collection she’ll be capturing for BRICKS’ next print issue. And, knowing the designer’s fondness for theatrics and a curiosity for historical craft, we’re envisioning Village People energy by way of Postman Pat, with a dash of Cheers’ Cliff Clavin.
KSENIASCHNAIDER goes bigger, again
KSENIASCHNAIDER returns to the runway for another collaboration with Lee Cooper, continuing a partnership that fuses the British denim label’s utilitarian heritage with her own oversized, surrealist approach. The Ukrainian designer is known for bending denim into improbable proportions; supersized silhouettes that seem to defy gravity and reimagines “baggy denim” for a new generation, where mom jeans are already the norm.
Where Lee Cooper provides archival credibility as is one of Britain’s oldest and most iconic denim brands, KSENIASCHNAIDER pushes distortion, upcycling and sculptural exaggeration. The result is denim that feels less like wardrobe staple and more like statement architecture. In a week crowded with newness, sometimes scale alone is enough to command attention.
Fiorucci will make a heavenly return
Fiorucci will return to the London Fashion Week schedule for the first time since Creative Director Francesca Murri took the reins in 2023. Murri arrived with a heavyweight CV, having held senior design roles at Versace, Gucci, Giorgio Armani, Givenchy and Ferragamo. Already at the brand, she’s launched Circolo UltraFiorucci, a Milan-based creative hub described as a “contemporary cathedral”, and has positioned the label within wider culture, from exhibition programming to music collaborations with elusive warehouse nightclub Gatto Verde.
With Fiorucci back in London, this is the moment to see how Murri’s studio pedigree – from her Ferragamo-honed tailoring to Versace-coded high-glamour, and experience reshaping heritage houses at Gucci and Givenchy – translates on British soil. Her SS26 collection, which featured polka dots, poodles, and a model painted like the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, gave us a glimpse at how she merges her experience with Fiorucci’s pop irreverence, and we can’t wait to see her work up close.
Grete Henriette’s newest muse will strut their stuff
East London-based queer designer Grete Henriette, best known for her sculptural approach that sees models appear like celestial beings, returns with a new catwalk collection, and a fresh group of goddesses. Her latest muse? Only one of our very own, cast exclusively from an open call with the BRICKS community.
A graduate of Central Saint Martins, Henriette’s practice is rooted in research and conceptual narratives, frequently exploring themes of identity, vulnerability, protection and bodily distortion. In this Friday night showcase, London’s runway is about to feel distinctly otherworldly.
The Vxlley will bring its botanical ceramics to life
I first encountered Daniel De Valle’s work in an Instagram post shared almost a year ago: a jacket that looked more like a meticulous diorama than any sort of garment. Overgrown with moss, miniature houses, and a fully depicted cemetery, it reveals even more intricate details the longer you look, from a herd of cows on a mossy lapel to a full ski slope scene skating down the wearer’s shoulder blades, and the result is a truly staggering work of art. When exhibited at PullLetter’s SS25 exhibition last year, the jacket was styled with a surreal pair of pants, featuring thatched-roof textures, and a suggestive window on the crotch.
But it was only after reading his profile in AnOther Magazine back in November, where De Valle first revealed The Narcissist – an eclectic merge of fashion, exhibition, performance, object and memory – that the obsessive ambition of his craft came into focus. From a ceramic t-shirt constructed using thousands of Victorian pipes found along the River Thames, to a living, breathing bodice that is watered daily, De Valle is not being hyperbolic when he says that The Vxlley is not a fashion brand. “I see it like a garden,” he told AnOther. “The Vxlley is the name of my garden, and everything that grows inside it is a reflection of me.” Now an LVMH Prize semi-finalist, it is this collection that he will be showing at London Fashion Week, and I, for one, will be bringing my magnifying glass to enjoy every detail.
Ronan McKenzie turns her gaze to the runway
Before Selasi ever reached a runway, Ronan McKenzie had already built a reputation behind the lens. The London-born photographer is known for her tender portraits exploring Black identity and representation in Britain, including A Black Body and Selasi, which began as a photographic study before later evolving into a fashion brand. I first encountered her community-focused practice through Home, a Black-owned, Black-led multi-disciplinary arts space and institute, which was sadly forced to close during COVID-19.
That same ethos now feeds directly into Selasi, which feels like an extension of her visual language. If her photography is about framing community with care, this runway debut should translate that same sensitivity into silhouette, with garments shaped by perspective, memory and heritage. Selasi arriving on-schedule feels like the next logical development of a practice that has always been about who gets to be seen.
Chet Lo lights up London with a Hong Kong-inspired Night Market
For AW26, Chet Lo is bringing a fond memory to life in an immersive showcase spotlighting Asian craftsmanship and the creatives who have grown alongside him. Inspired by a family trip he took last year to Hong Kong with his partner, the first time he’d brought his partner, Lo got to see the city with fresh eyes and relive the romanticism of it through his partner’s eyes.
At London Fashion Week, he’ll be hosting a Night Market, taking the rich colours and bustling energy of traditional Asian markets to the British capital. Ateaser video of a swinging red lantern and cinematic sountrack, sets the tone for what promises to be less runway, more celebration of culture and community. Curated by Red Flagged, a creative hub for Asian diaspora, a cast of makers spaning fashion, art, craft and jewellery will join the Night Market, each bringing their own unique perspective into Lo’s expanding universe.
Johanna Parv’s exhibition-meets-runway will celebrate women of the real world
Johanna Parv continues her study of what she calls “the intimacy of distance” with an exhibition-meets-runway format that blurs runway, presentation and immersive installation. Her work has long centred on urban movement, crafting garments engineered for women navigating real life at full speed – my favourite recent example of this was her SS26 handbags, which doubled as backpacks. This season’s showcase will further this ambition with a cast of creative muses, from visual artist Rhea Dillon and cyclist Eeva Leoni, reinforcing that real-world functionality. Rather than a conventional catwalk, the concept unfolds across multiple media, turning the runway into a lived environment. We’re drawn to Parv for precisely this reason: she consistently resists the predictable.
Petra Fagerstrom’s optical illusions take centre stage
Petra Fagerstrom first registered on our radar at the Central Saint Martins MA show during AW25, where her intricately pleated plaids – merging AI processes with traditional craft – secured the L’Oréal Professional Creative Award. Since then, her trajectory has been sharp: stocked at Dover Street Market, styled for SS26 by Harry Lambert, worn by Caroline Polachek and most recently Rosamund Pike on The Graham Norton Show, and now named an LVMH Prize semi-finalist.
Her signature fabrications create a semi-sheer optical illusion, shifting depending on angle and movement so that the garment reveals and conceals simultaneously. With her first on-schedule solo presentation, this is Fagerstrom stepping out from the graduate spotlight and into full view, and is proof that technical experimentation and mainstream visibility don’t have to sit at odds.
Karoline Vitto will revive diverse body representation on London’s runways
London felt noticeably flatter last season with the absence of Karoline Vitto. The Brazilian-born, London-based designer has become one of the few consistent voices on this schedule committed to genuine size inclusivity; not token casting, but structural design built around bodies that sit outside the industry’s narrow default. Her cut-out dresses and body-contouring silhouettes are engineered to celebrate softness and shape without apology, styled on a range of women whose presence on the runway feels revolutionary among the looksmaxxxing and body checking regression of the past few years.
Her absence during SS26 a visible gap. In recent seasons, London’s reputation for experimentation has not always extended to meaningful plus representation, and the void has been tangible. Vitto’s return restores a perspective that we cannot afford to sideline, where diversity isn’t an accessory to the clothes, but the foundation they’re built on.
Kazna Asker’s signature souk will end the week with warmth
For several seasons now, Kazna Asker has hosted a Yemeni-style souk during Fashion Week, gathering artisans, collaborators and long-time supporters around her to share her spotlight and celebrate community. It’s rare to encounter someone at London Fashion Week who is spoken about with such consistent warmth, and it’s praise that’s been well-earned through years of advocacy to revolutionise what fashion week presentations are really all about.
Beyond the atmosphere, the clothes hold their own; bold, characterful pieces bursting with personality and personal heritage, reframed through a contemporary sportswear lens. Scheduled for Monday night against the week’s predictable closer, this heart-warming event is the only way to end a frenetic fashion week – with substance over style.
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