Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1103271
11.04.19 TRENDSETTERS What inspired you to start your own clothing line? From a very young age, I always had a flare for fashion. What also helped was that both my parents' job was related to my present business. My mother owned a clothing shop therefore I quickly got involved in this field from a very tender age. What was your biggest challenge to date? I think that my biggest chal- lenge to date was when in 2018 I challenged myself to go full time as a self-employed entrepreneur. How has your clothing line expanded and diversified since its inception? Over the past five years PAR- ASCANDALO has grown a lot, we started off with a small range of t-shirts, for men. Now we do full collection for men and wom- en including bags and accesso- ries. Are you happy with how the business has developed? If you could go back to when you started, would you do anything differently? I am very happy with where PARASCANDALO is right now. However, if I could go back in time, I would have started earlier. We are seeing more and more local clothing lines emerge. In your opinion what is the main driving force behind this trend? I do believe that the quality in design and garment making has got better over recent years, this leads to local customers purchasing more made in Mal- ta products. Good exposure at Malta Fashion Week helped too. Looking forward, where do you see your venture going? We would like to keep on grow- ing as a lifestyle brand that also branches overseas. BUSINESS TODAY spoke to local fashion designer Marco Parascandolo, the man behind the ever more popular streetwear brand bearing his family name. He first launched his work in 2014 with a small line of men's t-shirts. Now, five years later, PASCANDALO is pushing boundaries with a full collection for men and women Meet the Birgu-born fashion designer pushing boundaries with a full line for men and women Model Agatha Ruiz with Marco Parascandalo