At 57 years old and thriving is none other than Marisa Grima, ultimate power woman and one of the faces behind Supernova Model Management… Marisa has been into fashion for literally all her life until one fine day, her hobbies slowly morphed into something much more over a span of 35 brilliant, yet fashionable years!
It all passionately started from making clothes for her dolls as a little girl until at 15 – shortly after her mother regretfully passed away – Marisa bought her very first sewing machine and started making clothes for herself and her friends. In 1994, Marisa was offered a great opportunity managing the first ever, for that time, the fabulous Hot Couture – the brainchild of designer and friend, Gloria Camilleri. Hot Couture was known for its beautiful clothes, huge fashion shows, and models; remarking that ‘there was that passion of believing in something, you could just see it’.
Although Grima was already “styling” at Hot Couture, ‘these jobs didn’t have titles back then’. She recognised the need for a proper modelling agency in Malta and so, launched Supernova Model Management together with Noelene Miggiani. The agency opened an array of new doors with huge fashion shows, proper models, and standards. ‘It just happened – nothing inspired it.’, she commented, ‘Things were so different back then, having so many models with me nowadays, it’s second nature for me to organise a fashion show now, I can do it with my eyes closed’. And if there’s anyone Marisa sincerely admires, it’s her great friend and business partner Noelene Miggiani …Perhaps one of their many proud moments together would be Fashion For A Cause – alongside Yvonne Desire Buttigieg – which entails a series of fashion-focused events that aim to raise funds for special causes.
Unexpected yet dazzling events and opportunities such as these is what makes Marisa and her career so captivating and enthralling. ‘I love the creativity and the not-knowing what you will be doing next because that’s what’s so exciting about fashion.’, she adds, ‘When I styled the shoots for Pink Magazine and for clients, you never know what the next shoot will be, you just know it has to be done. I like the uncertainty of it all.’
This might make one wonder, then, that her ‘wow factor’ moment lies overseas, but Marisa loves Malta as much as she loves layering her outfits. Even though she is confident that she would have done well abroad, there is an element of satisfaction in seeing her career reach new heights locally, from Malta Fashion Awards to the annual Malta Fashion Week. But of course, it’s hard to ignore a handful of foreign yet fond memories of hers, such as helping backstage in Birmingham and London for The Clothes Show Live! and to the search for the next face of Supernova, all of which Marisa describes as ‘simply fantastic’. One fault she does admit to, however, is that she is a very bad guest when she is attending shows, as she does not like to sit down, and despite the pressure, Marisa absolutely adores working backstage…So, as you might have guessed, Marisa is sitting at the edge of her seat until she can experience the excitement of fashion shows again!
Putting all success aside though, Marisa remarks how naïve she was in her youth and how she wishes she knew what she knows now through maturity, especially after losing her mother at the young, tender age of 15. Naturally, through living and learning, Marisa has now learned the importance of doing what makes you happy, sharing, ‘if you are not passionate about something, don’t do it. You only get one life – enjoy it, and don’t be scared to experiment.’ Outside of fashion, Marisa is also a major pet lover (and who can blame her?), a vegetarian since 1987, and is super passionate about sustainability and second-hand clothing. ‘I’ve always loved second hand, I remember a time where you’d find so many treasures. I still have vintage pieces from the 1940s and 1950s, and these 5, beautiful faux fur jackets from the 1960s, particularly a long, olive green coat with a huge faux fur collar and two buttons!’, she added.
And for any young, aspiring readers out there… Marisa advises you to ‘understand your character and its flaws, and if they bring you down, work on them.’. She explained, ‘Many women want to please everyone but themselves, but you have to remember you’re number one. Especially here in Malta, people can be very like-minded, many mothers teach their daughters what their mothers taught them, and end up making the same mistakes, instead of teaching them how to be strong.’ In fact, from her many proud moments, Marisa is grateful for not following in these footsteps; ‘I learnt from my mother’s mistakes. She died at 35, had an abusive husband, and ended up dying from a heart attack. Her fear killed her. I’m proud that I learned from the situation and vouched that it would never happen to me, but I wish she were intelligent enough as I am today. I might have been naïve, but that doesn’t mean I wasn’t strong – I just learnt how to be even stronger’. Above all, Marisa is happy that she’s managed to pass on these lessons onto some of her models and friends, inspiring them whilst bettering their lives in the process.
However, this doesn’t mean that the models who seem perfect to everyone else, feel perfect to themselves – ‘they’re very much human like everyone else’, Marisa noted. For reasons like this and more, there has been a spike of inclusivity amid the modelling and fashion industries over the recent years and whilst, ‘it goes exactly against what I and modelling agencies and scouts have been asked by designers and brands to look for’, Marisa believes that the industry should advocate for more inclusivity and ‘include more people who look normal, people with quirky looks, people who aren’t necessarily perfect.’ ‘I used to find it very strange that here we are, promoting outfits on stick-thin, 5”10 models when in reality, it’s incredibly hard to find them.’, she continued, ‘Even though it’s what the industry wanted, we’re trying to sell clothes to people like you and me who aren’t perfect’. It’s needless to say, then, that there’s always room for more diversity!
That being said, with the fashion industry constantly evolving, there’s no doubt that Marisa has picked up her own little tips and tricks along the way. More specifically, Marisa’s go-to-ways of re-styling any outfit is using an array of belts, tights, or scarves. In fact, she remembers ‘working with a female Maltese designer who had done a fashion show and as soon as it finished, she didn’t know she had to go out on stage, so she grabbed one of the dresses, but it did not fit well on her. She started panicking and I remember grabbing a pair of tights from the floor, pulled up the dress to give her a waist, and giving her a pair of heels’. But besides transformative accessories, transcending to her personal style, Marisa loves layers and outerwear, and to mix different textures, patterns, and colours so that ‘the outfit can tell a story’.
As for those who want their outfits to tell their own story, but are struggling to find their personal style, Marisa has passed on a worthwhile piece of advice to us all… ‘if the passion is not there, then you won’t find your style. You need to go deeper and understand the clothes that you wear, you need to understand yourself and what makes you tick before you can decide what you like on yourself’.
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Michela Muscat is a 20-year-old University student who strives on feminism, fashion, dancing, beauty, writing… and a good bottle of vino.
From waitressing to writing, she has been determinedly working ever since she was 15, started writing professionally at 18, and has never been afraid to speak her mind. In all aspects of her personal life and work, Michela has always aimed at keeping it real and prioritises female empowerment, independence, equality, and above all, unity.
