A few days before I left for my holiday-away-from-the-heat I was sitting at Pjazza San Gorg  with a friend watching some beautiful models wearing one exquisite dress after another. Not a pair of trousers or 'leggings' in sight. Angela Merkel would have had a hard time selecting something to wear. Karl Lagerfeld once commented: 'She should perhaps wear a little less colour and find someone who can tailor better trousers for her. The cut of her trousers is not good.'However, in the end, the woman who had been universally chided as a dowdy matron has become widely admired for her sober suits and homely slip-on loafers. In just a few years Merkel had silenced her fashion critics by not bowing to their bits of advoce  and remaining true to her signature style.

Back to Piazza San Gorg. One of the organizers of this event was the Chamber of Fashion,  Malta set up a couple of years ago by that enterprising lawyer, Juliana Scerri Ferrante of Ferromoda fame. The event was held under the patronage of the Italian Embassy with the collaboration of I'Istituto Italiano di Cultura.  La generosità Italiana came up with the goodies and engaged two extremely gifted Italian designers, Gianni Molaro and Carlo Alberto Terranova who turned up with some stunning ensembles. This was an evening of alta moda indeed. Malta's contribution was the young Gozitan designer Luke Azzopardi. What a unique chance for him to display his designs on the same catwalk as the well-established Molaro and Terranova.

Gianni Molaro's career in fashion spans some 25 years. His creations are inspired by Africa, Fish and the Japanese Manga. His clothes are meticulously made by hand according to long established Italian - and Neapolitan - sartorial traditions. He prefers strong colours and rich materials as was evident that evening. Dreams and poetry characterise his designs. His outfits seem sartorially perfect. His creations are theatrically surprising and feature soft drapery, mermaid style silhouettes, rare and expensive handwork, enchanting macramé and Chantilly lace on tulle to create some very effective see through effects.

Carlo Alberto Terranova's name is synonymous with the Sarlì Fashion House and Fausto Sarlì, a pillar of high Italian fashion who passed away in 2010. But Terranova  recently set up his own brand, New Land Couture. Black and white seems to be the 'dress code' of this gifted designer and most of the outfits on show that evening were indeed in black and white.

Luke Azzopardi needs no introduction as he has featured in several local magazines and on television  with his Opium Addict collection.

A group of 'baroque' dancers entertained those present towards the end of the evening. There was also Christabelle Borg and Ruth Sammut Casingena who sang for us, each in her own speciality, popular pop for Christabelle and opera and classical songs for Ruth.

I have two remarks to add about an otherwise entertaining and aesthically pleasing event which must have taken months of preparation. This was a very long catwalk indeed. More often than not the models looked uncomfortable in the very high heels they were all wearing. All were tall and beautiful with classic hairstyles (by Screen) and subtle makeup (by Pupa). There really was no need for them to wear such high heels, especially in view of the long catwalk.

I cannot refrain from commenting, as I have over the many years I have been writing, that the music was far too loud. One of the pleasures of such an evening is the exchange of opinion with those nearby and short, quiet comments about the clothes. This was impossible as the music was far too loud. On my right were Annemarie Darmanin, an old and dear colleague and her husband Gilly, surely the handsomest couple sitting in the Pjazza that evening. Annemarie told me that their daughter Julia was one of the models. I had not seen Julia for many years and was looking forward to seeing her model. And there she was this beautiful  girl who now also models abroad occasionally. With parents who look like that it must be difficult not to turn out a very good looking child, although beauty can be very random. What must life be like when you look like that, with the world at your feet and anything possible?!

This was an almost perfect evening . A big prosit to all those behind the scenes who made it happen.