Events Post : Malta Fashion Week : Charles&Ron

On the second day of Malta Fashion Week, Malta’s most established designers Charles and Ron, debuted their new collection at the Mediterranean Conference Centre. Guests, all dressed up in their finest finery, began to arrive to this most-anticipated show from over an hour before, one could tell that the level of excitement in the audience was high; these designers are not known to disappoint !!

The music started and the models began to slowly saunter down the never ending catwalk, the audience following their every footstep as the photographers clicked away. I must say that the grandness of this venue and set-up matched the opulence and beauty of their designs perfectly.

Before the show started, I asked Charles to quote in one sentence what this collection is about and his words were ‘It is a feast of colours‘ and it truly was, vibrant colours were the order of the day with shocking green, the shade of Scottish fields and shades of gold, brighter than the sun !! Over the years, it always becomes more and more apparent that Charles and Ron love contrast and to compliment these bright hues were some beautiful pastel fabrics.

Malta was the main inspiration behind their collection and in particular, the Maltese Festa. Infact, two repeated patterns were the Maltese Cross and the motifs used in the village festas displayed on banners.

Interesting fact is that they printed their own fabrics so the design was theirs from beginning to end !! Something I particularly loved was the use of vintage ladylike dress style reminiscent of the 1950s and 1960s but still mixed with these Maltese grandiose prints.

One of my favourite pieces was this one below – I’m a sucker for bold structured shoulders and this jacket which finishes perfectly just below the waistline has my name written all over it. I absolutely love the laser cut pattern !!

Worth a mention (or three) is this dress below..the quality of the tailoring on this piece and the way the sheer material blends in with the lace, is absolutely superb !!

The same applies for this skirt below

And then of course there was that stunning wedding dress..with that lace detailing and that lace headpiece…

And now for the BAGS, Charles and Ron have excitingly enough, stepped into the world of leather bags and I must say WOW, these were truly luxurious, very classically designed but with a mix of interesting colours and always with the Charles and Ron logo discreetly displayed on a hanging chain.

The make-up, by Justin Brincat, was as always completely astonishingly perfect…I loved the fact that the face and necks were darkened and then sprinkled with gold dust, this was complimented perfectly by the otherwise nude face except for those beautifully coloured brows. It was almost as though there was a huge contrast of ‘simple’ and elaborate makeup in the same look if that is even possible.

The same goes for the hairstyles which were kept pulled back, away from the face, very simple style, but then this gold lace was attached onto the hair making the whole style anything but simple.

Was also lovely to see Malta’s first lady Michelle Muscat present tonight, besides the fact that she looked stunning, it’s nice to see people in prominent positions giving the Maltese fashion industry its due importance.

A lovely & most interesting second day of fashion !! Well done to Charles & Ron and Adrian Mizzi and all his team for a superb display of local talent.