Date: Thursday 14th May 2015
Time: 19:30hrs
Location: Grand Master's Palace, Republic Street, Valletta
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| promo picture courtesy of Ritienne Zammit |
'The aim of this collection is to arouse the gratitude of our identity, language and beliefs' - this verse opened Ritienne Zammit's superb fashion show after a short promo video with a modern interpretation of the Maltese National Anthem by world-renowned Maltese DJ duo Tenishia. The same verse was read in Maltese, English and Italian, the three languages involved in the 'Language Question' during the 1920's and 1930's, the two decades around which the collection revolved. The mane of the collection is actually part of our national anthem which translates to 'This Motherland so dear whose name we bear!'
While Italian (at the time the language used by professionals such as doctors, lawyers and the clergy) and English (the language of the foreign rulers at the time) were 'fighting' to be the official language of Malta, Maltese patriots, mostly Manwel Dimech, fought with fervour to elevate Maltese from it's 'working class' and the 'language of the kitchen' status to that of the official language of the Maltese Islands.
Patriots' portraits such as that of the afore mentioned Manwel Dimech, Dun Karm Psaila (our national poet), Dun Mikiel Xerri and Mikiel Anton Vassalli were cleverly incorporated into the designs with a modern twist.
The colour palette consisted of monochrome black and white featuring excerpts from Mikiel Anton Vassalli's Lexicon (first Maltese dictionary) in the style of 1920's newspapers, salmon, teal and a hint of oxblood, which my friend and fellow blogger Mariel pointed out, that at the time, it was very fashionable to have furniture painted in those colours.
Moreover, the finger-curled hair and the cut-out moustaches added to the vibe the designer was after. The stark white lips, eyeliner and cut-out brows further accentuated the graphic edge to the collection making it more appealing to the public.
The location for this show, the magnificent Grand Master's Palace couldn't have more adapted, for it was the seat of the first Maltese Self-Government in 1921.
This was definitely a winning collection and one that has a lot of background research. I am looking forward to owning a piece from it asap! Brava Ritienne! Ghamiltna kburin! (Well done Ritienne! You made us proud!).
Sadly, this was the last show for me this year and I can definitely say that my fashion week closed with a bang! I would like to wish all nominees a big good luck for Saturday's awards and I would like to thank the team behind Fashion Week for scouting interesting locations for all the shows and I would like to show my appreciation for all the hard work put into the most fashionable week of the year :) I look forward to next year! Cheers!
All photos are courtesy of Mark Soler. Check out his website msfotography.net for more :)
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