Shooting Charles + Ron Runway Pieces in Malta

Photography: Marina Williams

Model: Olivia Caputo

Wardobe & Accessories: Charles & Ron SS23

Location: Valletta, Malta

A trip to Europe was not on my vision board for 2023, but when an opportunity came my way in March, I couldn’t say no. New York City content creator and close friend of mine, Olivia Caputo, reached out to me about an opportunity to go to Turkey and Malta in partnership with their respective tourism boards with three weeks notice, and I wasn’t going to turn it down.

We had such an incredible time in Istanbul, and I’m sure I’ll share images of that leg of the trip soon too. When we were in Malta, we worked with local Maltese fashion brand Charles + Ron to shoot some of their runway pieces around Valletta. Ron and Brendon were so kind to us and understood our vision for the shoot – the more drama, the better. We were over the moon when the pieces they choose for the shoot had everything we dreamed of: volume, sequins, ruffles, trains – all of the fixings to create a scene in public (and get the coolest images possible).

We started early in the morning, and although it was a bit windy on the island in March, we powered through the chill and I shot Olivia in the red ruffled gown first. Our hotel was actually located inside the Starbucks in Valletta, so leaving the elevator dressed to the nines on a weekday morning was definitely a sight to see. We turned heads, got whistled at, and heard “you’re beautiful” many times – the people of Malta even stopped to take photos of us while we shot. Very different than what Olivia is used to NYC, where people could care less about another photo shoot.

The weather was beautiful, the sun was shining, and we got the shots we needed before heading back to the hotel to change into the second look. This time Olivia wore the Barbie pink sequined matching set with a train that doubled as a headscarf (the Charles + Ron team showed us how to style it correctly). The closeup of Olivia with it wrapped around her head was definitely one of, if not my favorite of the whole day.

Check out my images below, as well as Charles + Ron’s socials! These pieces were from their most recent