By Albert Fenech 
Malta’s Fashion Week commenced some years back after being launched by designer Adrian J Mizzi in what then was seen as a vain event to mimic something of international preparation which Malta and Gozo could never aspire to but would surely just mimic everything going on internationally.
This year it was staged from Saturday, 5th July, for four days of parades ending in a feast of thrillingly colourful female and male preparations based on the designs of not only Maltese designers but also international designers and photographers who are expressing a greatly growing interest.
The Maltese market is small but its contacts are spread throughout the world and so what is seen as being only Malta’s, from this year has been beamed all over the world and become commercially fruitful.
There are two great advantages. The first is that it is held outside Valletta’s entrance around the Floriana/Valletta Tritons Fountain with all its colour and beauty and secondly the almost guarantee that the first days of July herald the coming Maltese summer without having yet heated up.
Nowadays Malta Fashion Week is not only a week of walkways and parades but a platform which also draws people together from the creative community, artists and technicians. In all 300 people are involved as explained by the organiser and artistic director, Adrian J. Mizzi.
Mizzi explained that at 4pm every afternoon there is a call for the first set, makeup artists, hair stylists, those who steam, those who apply finishing touches, and models strolling around to make their preparations and their collections to be paraded.
From emerging talent to established icons, Malta Fashion Week 2025 brought bold ideas, unforgettable scenes and runway moments worth thinking about. Over four electric nights, designers turned Valletta into a celebration of self-expression, creativity and local flair. We were there for every stitch, sparkle and step.
Gagliardi opened the first night with its Spring/Summer 2025 collection, The Sweet Summer. The beloved Maltese menswear brand showcased a fresh take on elegance with soft silhouettes, lightweight tailoring and breathable fabrics. Rich tones of indigo, terracotta and sage green brought a Mediterranean twist to classic linen, while unstructured jackets and drawstring trousers added a smart-casual edge to the label’s signature tailored style.
Each session starts at 8.30pm to around 11pm but when the session ends, it does not mean that work stops too, as described by host Mizzi.
“Various people, like photographers, have to work through the night so that next morning the models can see their work and their parade.
“Even when the Fashion Week is over”, said Mizzi, “they continue working up to a month after the week to dismantle everything and to judge what was successful and what was not.”
He said the logistics need coordination as near to perfection as possible to ensure spectators enjoy themselves and others enjoy the Pjazza tat-Tritoni.
This year a kind of garden was created and many wished to have their picture taken of them with the MFW signpost. A special area was created in which people liked to be photographed particularly tourists and in this modern world all people with mobiles were seen shooting and posting.
The photography exhibition which was created years ago this year had a different look with space also being made for foreign photographers and organiser Mizzi said there was a response from Australia, Romania, Lebanon and Croatia and all took part and some attended for three days taking pictures of pictures.
To set a touch of irony about it all, the Mayors of Floriana and Valletta were asked to open the Fashion Week. Why ironic?
Floriana and Valletta are great rivals on the football field and have always been. There have also been disputes on what lies in Floriana or whether that is Valletta – including the Tritons Fountain around which the whole event was held!
As a symbol of unity, Fashion Week was opened by the Mayors of Floriana and Valletta, Nigel Holland and Olaf McKay, together.
The irony?
Both have names and surnames that are decisively NOT Maltese but both come from families who have been aligned to their home cities Floriana and Valletta for many, many years!
ALBERT FENECH
