I'm embarrassed to say that last night was my first time inside Malta's national Library, I was always under the impression that it wasn't actually open to the public. I've mentioned before that I love libraries. well most of all, I love books, burying myself into a story and allowing myself to be transported somewhere is one of my favourite pastimes. An entire huge room with floor to ceiling (and a massively high ceiling) books is therefore right up my alley.
There has never ever been a fashion show held in the public library, actually I wold probably think there has never been a show of any kind inside the library. It seemed fitting that Bortex, a long standing Maltese company, would celebrate their 50 year anniversary with a Gagliardi show at such a location,. Gagliardi is their most recent venture and it is the company's first venture into creating a brand from scratch and making it their own. Bortex had always had a reputation for impeccable tailoring, for many years they produced clothes for large, foreign brands and were also the de facto place for a Maltese man to purchase a suit. When Gagliardi was first launched, most people thought that it was another brand that Bortex were making clothes for. The foreign-sounding name and the opening of stores abroad, further enhanced that belief but irrespective of where they thought it was coming from, Maltese men loved it, it offered a fresh approach on formal wear with reasonable prices and I would say that presently Gagliardi is probably dressing 3/4 of the Maltese men.
Yesterday, they presented two collections - the Spring/Summer 2014 one and the Autumn/Winter 2104/2015 one. The Summer collection was fresh with some lovely colours and of course impeccable tailoring. The beautiful suits were a feature and there were some lovely jackets paired with chinos and very interesting shoes, the shoes are theirs too. The fabrics are of a very high quality with fine Italian Wool, high quality cotton and leather all a prominent part of the collection. The collection is inspired by the Amalfi coast and there's an evident emphasis on lightness throughout.
The Winter Collection blew me away ....timeless and classic but with some standout, original pieces that really need to start being available for women. The collection is inspired by wild boar 'Cinghiale' hunting in Tuscany. The collection is quite colourful, warm colours such as mustard, orange and a beautiful green used throughout. There are some standout classical pieces such classic chinos and single breasted waistcoats and chunky knits, plaid made an appearance as did tweed fabric.
My standout piece from the whole show was this paisley jacket....its is DIVINE.
Great show, great venue and beautiful clothes. The styling of the show was also very, very good, everything fit the models perfectly and I really enjoyed seeing the way the different accessories - from pocket squares to mirrored sunglasses - were incorporated into the outfits.