Following their collection debut during New York Fashion Week, it was finally time for Malta to witness yet another grand collection from powerhouse duo Charles & Ron. Entitled 'Fabiola', the collection was inspired by antique gold and jewellery traditions from the Maltese Islands; an aspect ingrained in our society as the more ornate the jewellery you wore, the higher your social status but not only, jewellery oftentimes held sentimental value and still does to this day.
An intriguing portrait of Saint Fabiola is what really brought the collection to life. Saint Fabiola is the patron saint of divorced people and unhappy, tumultuous marriages (of which she experienced 2 in her lifetime) and victims of abuse. Originally painted by Jean-Jacques Henner in 1885, Saint Fabiola's portrait, which went missing in 1912, has been copied by artists from all around the world and is a common occurrence in traditional, antique Maltese jewellery.
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| Saint Fabiola as painted by Jean-Jacques Henner |
The collection includes fashion for both men and women and I think this is one of the biggest collections yet for Charles and Ron. With Glen Vella & Pamela Bezzina's choir singing popular songs from Queen and the Birkirkara band clubs accompanying them, they provided the perfect background music for the duo's rich collection. We have heavily printed garments, other less so and the classic CR logo which was revamped to a more ornate look for this collection. Bags cannot be forgotten, all in jewel tones matching the garments.
Charles & Ron's expertise is palpable all throughout the collection - from the tasteful prints to the tailoring and the magnificent gowns and wedding dress at the end of the show, this collection is a treat (and a headache for my hubby to choose what to get me for Christmas 😛)!
I feel this collection was truly cohesive with jewel tones such as purple, cardinal pink, chilli pepper red, orange and lilac, all set off against staple black and white and hand-beaded jewellery and embellishments. The materials used in this collection are silk, silk tulle, pure crepe wool, lace, velvet, chiffon and faux fur. With this collection, Charles & Ron have also introduced logo embroidered denim.
On a final note, Charles & Ron chose to dedicate this collection to Katia Sullivan aka Kiki who was a trailblazer of LGBTIQ rights both locally and abroad and she carved her name in the fashion industry. Katia has supported Charles & Ron from the very beginning but sadly, Kiki passed away while C&R's collection was in production and given the opulent nature of the collection, it was only natural for them to dedicate it to her memory.
The show was organized with the aim of raising funds for the Community Chest Fund and was hosted under the patronage of Mrs Vella, wife of His Excellency The President of Malta. The compare for the night was Claire Agius Ordway.
Makeup was done by Jean Zammit and his team using Inglot cosmetics
Hair was entrusted to Neville Zammit and his team
All photography by GoRaw Photography
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