This year’s seven-day Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week will for the first time take place in Valletta.

Valletta 2018 Chairman Jason Micallef said the event will be held with the support of the foundation. It will form part of the events in the run-up to Valletta’s European Capital of Culture in 2018.

Iconic locations such as St George’s Square, the National Library, the Mediterranean Conference Centre and Fort St Elmo would provide the backdrop as well as the new stairs to Hastings Gardens.

Art and design students from Leeuwarden, in the Netherlands, which is Valletta’s co-European Capital of Culture in 2018, will be collaborating with students from the Institute of Art and Design within the MCAST, working on a collaborative project with students in Malta during Fashion Week.

Owen Bonnici, Minister for Justice, Culture and Local Government said: “For the first time, the government is not only acknowledging the fashion sector as a primary creative industry, but has also made it part of its cultural calendar”.

“This event, which has developed over the years, intertwines the economic aspect with the artistic element,” Minister Bonnici continued.

“The Malta Fashion Week has become a catalyst as part of our island’s fashion industry and the government is determined to see the sector grow and reach its potential, through high calibre events such as this”.

Forming part of the international circuit of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Weeks worldwide, the week-long celebration of fashion, heritage and culture serves as a platform attracting international publicity for Maltese talent and all that Malta has to offer in this sector. The Mercedes-Benz Malta Fashion Week will  include the Malta Fashion Awards which have been organised since 1997.

The Malta Fashion Week will run between May 25 and May 31. More information  at: http://fashionweek.com.mt