Designer duo invited to Toronto Fashion Week

Local designers Charles & Ron are continuing to move in international circles, their next step in the overseas fashion scene being their participation in Toronto Fashion Week in October.

They have been invited by the Fashion Design Council of Canada (FDCC) to be the international guest designers at the fashion week, to be held between October 16 and 21. They will be showcasing the spring/summer 2007 CR collection.

Following their participation in the first TV Moda Malta International Fashion Show, organised by Renaissance Productions Ltd at Manoel Island in July, the duo was approached by a Canadian journalist, brought over by RPL, who was impressed by the CR couture collection.

However, getting there has not been simply a question of being invited, said Ron. "We had to be judged by the board and, apparently, it is quite a thing to get past it. We were competing with several others," he said.

It is not surprising that the designers were elated, not to say "shocked".

"It is the biggest thing we have ever done. Every time we do a show abroad, we think it is the biggest. But now we are moving out of Europe! The market is enormous in the US and Canada," said Charles.

They are ready for the challenge. In fact, they are currently working on the spring/summer collection, as well as the autumn/winter creations that are being launched locally.

"We started working on the collection for Toronto about three weeks ago and designed half of it in Comino. We got the news just before we left, so we packed everything we needed - fabric swatches and sketching material - so we could realise our ideas in that inspiring setting," said Ron.

The result will be a prêt-à-porter collection, with some eveningwear, "but a bit toned down". "We are not using much colour, apart from red - mostly black and white combinations, khaki, light grey and off-white."

As regards the winter collection, which they should be launching at the end of October, colours range from purple to red, black and off-white, as well as some metallic shades of gold and silver. The collection should include some "1960s-inspired graphic design patterns" on velvet jackets and coats, with a slightly futuristic feel.

But before all that, Charles and Ron have also been invited to participate in an event in Greece, where, together with a local model, they are competing with three of their designs against 10 countries, standing a chance of featuring in an advertising campaign if they win.

Although the local fashion scene may be limited, Charles and Ron claim they have never felt constricted. Their recent opportunity to showcase their collection alongside such fashion giants as Gucci, Armani, Valentino and Roberto Cavalli, among many other major names, was another highlight in their career.

The three-time Malta Fashion Awards winners took the opportunity to showcase their couture collection to an international TV audience. "It was a bit more elaborate than most of the other designers as we wanted the dresses, which were designed to be like sculptures, to create a show in themselves," Charles and Ron said.