The last day of Malta Fashion Week was yesterday and it ended with a beautiful International Designers Show in Pjazza Regina, Valletta on a rather chilly night. Five designers were featured: Danijela Bozic from Serbia, House of Jola from Nigeria, Jean Paul Benielli from Paris, Sally Bowa from Nigeria and Judy R Clark from Scotland UK.
As regards organisation, this is of course the hardest to coordinate as there is a limit to how many preparations can be done in advance before the designer arrives, certain last minute decisions always need to be had. This means that it was a tiring afternoon that started at 2 pm and ended when the show ended at about 9:30 pm but the satisfaction at the end was brilliant.
I loved each and everyone of the designers, they all displayed wonderful collections – Danijela’s pieces are extremely interesting, a lot of the pieces have very structured shapes with very clean and defined lines and lovely tailoring. The style is elegant and chic and what I really liked is that although these are structured pieces, the woman’s body is not lost and there is in fact still a healthy dose of sex appeal thrown in in the final look. The jewellery worn with the outfits is also very luxurious and very stunning.
Joan Okorodudu from House of Jola is a fabulous designer and a fabulous champion of fashion in Nigeria. Her collection fills me with joy – literally – those prints, those colours and of course the jackets – her jackets are absolutely amazing – both male and female…the clothes all have really nice fits too and really enhance the female body. She has some lovely 2-piece pieces and I really liked the purple crop top and matching trousers outfit. The men’s pieces are very nicely tailored and the green paisley suit is truly a standout piece. I think I could actually buy all of her female collection.
Jean Paul Benielli is a haute couture designer that produces intricate, delicate, mesmerising pieces, his pieces are all about femininity, about showing off a woman’s body, they scream glamour and sophistication. They also have an air of magic about them and immediately transport you to a red carpet. The detail of the pieces, the beading and the way the different fabrics are worked together is quite impressive, this is a designer who produces art.
Sally Bowa is another Nigerian designer and just like House of Jola, she also designs clothes that are a lot of fun, clean lines, large patterns, lots of colour, flared trousers – I truly am a fan of African fashion.
Last up was Judy R Clark from Scotland and WOW, ooh I want to wear one of these romantic, work-of-art pieces, actually scratch that, all of these pieces. Her collection is both Scottish and vintage inspired with vintage lace, cuffs, petticoats and bustles all being prominent features. Her collection has different sets within the collection, there’s what I am calling the Scottish princess one with beautiful long gowns worked from lovely lace with intricate beading and lots of frills and volume. I keep imagining one of these dresses being worn as a wedding gown – that would be one of the most interesting brides ever. The standout set in my opinion was the ‘tartan one’ featuring tailored, structured, blazers and frock coats made from wool, with tartan accents and some even with feathers.
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