Charles Borg and Ron van Maarschalkerweerd

are the masterminds behind Charles & Ron; a contemporary lifestyle brand that includes high-end, wearable clothing and bags dedicated to superior quality and a nod to the Mediterranean. Cultural significance plays an integral role in the Charles & Ron design ethic and aesthetic. Their vision infuses echoes of Maltese culture and the Mediterranean lifestyle throughout their brand.Perfecting their craft of style and design from an early age, Charles learned his tailoring skills from relatives who were expert dressmakers, while Ron studied Economy and Human Resource management. The dynamic duo met in Amsterdam, The Netherlands in 1992, where they combined the disciplines of artistry and strategy as one. Their first collection, Beatrix, was named after the Queen of Holland. From there, their name evolved simply into Charles & Ron. The successful ‘A-Team' has established themselves as Malta's leading fashion house, where their bi-annual fashion show is Malta's most anticipated fashion event.Throughout the years, Charles and Ron have gained significant notoriety, designing costumes for Malta's top theatre companies. The duo has received many honors, and were selected to design the costumes for the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting that was held in Malta in 2006. While Charles & Ron have also dressed many local and international celebrities and have been featured in several international magazines and on many television shows, the duo consider their couture show in Rome, Italy, on Italy's first TV station Rai Uno, as one of the most prominent highlights of their career.[gallery size="large" columns="2" link="none" ids="32236,32234,32242,32244"]

Q&A

RAINE: What is the inspiration behind Charles and Ron? CHARLES & RON: Maltese culture is an integral part of the Charles & Ron design ethic and our brand's vision is, to inspire our customer to be part of the “love affair” and our instantly recognizable Mediterranean style. Malta inspires all of our collections and we draw inspiration from architecture, traditional art forms, nature etc.RAINE: What's new with the brand - any exciting developments in the past year?CHARLES & RON: Last year we showed our collections during New York and Los Angeles fashion week, and have had the honor to dress several celebs. Singer Ashanti wore pieces from our Spring/Summer 17 collection for The Real daytime TV show, V. Bozeman wore C&R for The Soul Train red carpet event, we dressed Brenda Song, Renee Bargh and Jessica Pimentel (OITNB) also wore C&R when she attended both our NY show. Our flagship store in Valletta, Malta's capital has now been succesfully open for a year, and we were awarded as honorary citizens in our hometown.RAINE: What has been your biggest hurdle as a designer to date?CHARLES & RON: The Fashion Design world is though and there are many challenges but trying to find reliable production companies to work with has been the biggest struggle so far.RAINE: What advice can you give to other designers on how to fund their business?CHARLES & RON: You have to be extremely dedicated and have to be ready for many challenges, funding can be difficult and if you don't immediately find partners to fund your business you have work very hard to start things off by yourself. In the beginning you might have to take on many jobs to be able to fund your business.RAINE: What do you feel is the state of the fashion industry at the moment?CHARLES & RON: The industry is going to many changes, as the current strategies have become in need of change to adapt to ever changing consumer behavior.RAINE: If you could change something about the industry what would it be?CHARLES & RON: Personally I would like to see people in important positions within the industry give more importance to smaller less known brands and designers. The new and upcoming are the future and are just as important as the well established names.RAINE: What is your favorite quote?CHARLES & RON: “If you want to see the girl next door, go next door”RAINE: Now that you have your own retail store, what advantages and disadvantages has that posed for your business.CHARLES & RON: It is great that we have a presence in the capital city of our home country. The shop is situated in the main shopping street right next to the impressing “ Grandmaster's Palace”. Having your own store obviously brings on more responsibilities relating to stocks and logistics but the advantages far way out the disadvantages.RAINE: What's something your fans don't know about the designers behind Charles and Ron?CHARLES & RON: Most real fans do know this, but we have been a couple for 25 years and got married 2 years ago.RAINE: What's on the horizon that we should be looking forward to for the brand?CHARLES & RON: Besides our shows with Art Hearts Fashion Week during NYFW and LAFW we are also invited to show our collection at the European Parliament next May and will also participate during Feeric Fashion Week in Romania this summer. In June we will celebrate the fact that it's 25 years ago since Charles & myself met and we will be launching several limited edition products to celebrate this milestone.RAINE: What words of wisdom would you share to other aspiring entrepreneurs?CHARLES & RON: Never underestimate yourself, if you don't believe in yourself nobody else will.