Difference between Malta Fashion Week & Malta Fashion Awards

The difference between Malta Fashion Week & Malta Fashion Awards might seem obvious to some. However, I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve had to verbally explain to different people that there are two events in Malta – going to the Saturday Night Awards Night does not mean you’ve attended Malta Fashion Week and sampled all that our local designers and international guests have to offer.

As the name implies, Fashion Week is something that happens over the span of an approximate week. In London, although it is still called a fashion WEEK, it is actually 5 days, in Milan 6, in Paris 8 – you get the gist. In Malta, the length has varied from 7 – 8 days.

A fashion week, in general, is one whereby on each day, there will be one or more shows showcasing both local and international designers. Presentations, parties and receptions might also feature into the mix. In larger fashion weeks, there might be something like 30 different official events happening on each day. In Malta, seeing as we cater to a far smaller population, it is generally 1 or 2.

The Malta Fashion Awards Night happens right after Malta Fashion Week ends, it is a one-night event held on the final Saturday. It includes a small showcase of what happened throughout Fashion Week along with the awards ceremony and a number of other presentations, such as hair shows.

In Malta, the confusion came about because originally it was just the Fashion Awards – back in 1997, 20 years ago. The fashion awards were immediately popular, happening once a year and gaining a larger audience each year. Eight years ago, Malta Fashion Week was created and it’s been occurring once yearly ever since. Since the awards night is the original event, it is the event which most Maltese people are familiar with and thereby attend.

Tickets to the Fashion Week events are actually free !! It’s just a matter of booking your place with the organisers -this last bit is important, especially for the really popular shows – these tend to get booked out within a few days.

On the individual days, during Fashion Week, the designers get a chance to showcase a larger amount of pieces from their collections, in a more intimate setting. If you are truly interested in learning about a designer, attending the individual show will better serve this purpose.