Charles & Ron present 'Fabiola' for AW19/20

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.

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

316km² | Charles & Ron Spring Summer '19 Collection Launch

316km². My Malta's total area! How tiny and yet so rich! A tiny island whose name is met with blank stares many a time, and with jubilant expressions whenever we meet someone who has actually visited! A small island bang in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea with 300 days of sunshine per year and a history richer than any other country's, I never tire of boasting about my Malta!

Even more so, when we have such a formidable fashion duo such as Charles & Ron, who always take an aspect from our history and culture and seamlessly transcend it into their superb fashion collections. 

Last Friday I was invited to the launch of the Spring Summer '19 collection at their newly opened store at MINUSTHREE at The Point Shopping Complex in Sliema. The collection was first launched last September during New York Fashion Week as part of Art Hearts Fashion Week.

In their own words:

"A summer day in Malta or Gozo can take you from a village to a bar and later a beautiful beach. We wanted this collection to truly capture the spirit of island life. Small towns, villages, and iconic spots such as Glen Eagles Bar in the harbour of Gozo really capture that spirit. Images of the bar, pictures from beautiful Xwejni Bay, traditional house façades and the idea of putting some iconic animals in the spotlight sets us off on the design journey for Spring/Summer 2019".

The colour palette is inspirired by our traditional homes built from limestone and their doors, façades  and balconies painted in pastel colours - orange, mint, lilac, baby blue and yellow, paired with C&R's signature black and white. We have different animal motifs on the garments depicting endemic animal species such as the Fresh Water Crab and the Wall Lizard as well as other species which are often associated with the Maltese Islands such as the Maltese Falcon and the Dolphin Fish, some of which are even in danger of extinction and thus Charles and Ron aim at raising awareness about them.

Materials used in this collection range from playful tulle to silk, chiffon, cotton knits, as well as light wash and embroidered denim. The collection also includes bags, belts, sneakers and encrusted jewellery.

I think this collection ticks off all the boxes for me, so much so that I already got my hands on an item from it 😉 Thank you Charles & Ron for having me and well done on the collection once again!

Fashion meets Travel in Sicily

The month of April saw the beginning of some amazing friendships and a fun, jam-packed weekend in Trapani, Sicily which I will look back to fondly in the weeks, months and years to come :) Sicily is a beautiful island with picturesque scenery all around, thus, the organizer, Grazielle surprised us by co-ordinating a very colourful photo-shoot in collaboration with United Colours of Benetton Malta to make the most of the beautiful backdrops that this country offers.

She got us all different coloured tops and matching bags and managed to keep it all a secret until Saturday morning! Grazielle also got us colourful hoop earrings from Primadonna Collection (Sliema). Originally, we were meant to take the photos in the ancient ruins of Segesta temples but since it was raining, our driver took us in the vicinity of Marsala where the weather was thankfully much better and we stopped to take pictures in the middle of fields and later to an idyllic beach at Paceco dubbed Tahiti by the Sicilians. The latter provided the perfect summery background to match the colourful tops and our good mood!

So you see, casual can be fun and bright! Special thanks go to guest photographer Ron Kerr for the amazing job he did with capturing some perfect moments with all these beautiful ladies, the company of whom I enjoyed very much!

Tops and bags | United Colours of Benetton

Earrings | Primadonna Collection

Photography | Ron Kerr

I'm wearing: 

Jeans | Charles & Ron

Sunglasses | GlassesShop.com

Heels | Dorothy Perkins

I have more posts related to our weekend in Trapani so do stay tuned for them!