After considerable deliberation, Fashion Trust Arabia (FTA) has announced the 24 finalists for its prestigious FTA Prize Award. The finalists hail from all across the Arab world, including Lebanon, Morocco, Egypt, and Syria to Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Jordan, and Kuwait, and they will be showcasing their collections in Doha on Oct. 25, where the winners will be announced.The categories for the fifth edition of the awards fall under ready-to-wear, evening wear, jewelry, accessories, Franca Sozzani debut talent, and guest country, which is Nigeria.
A non-profit organization, FTA provides financial support, guidance, and mentorship to emerging designers from across the MENA region, while also providing a platform for them to grow and gain recognition internationally.
The FTA Prize is the first of its kind initiative in the Arab world. HE Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, FTA’s Honorary Chair, and Co-chairs HE Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad Al Thani and Tania Fares launched the first edition in Doha in 2018. Six winning designers were selected across five different design categories.
The winners of the FTA prize are offered a one-of-a-kind jumpstart to their careers with a financial grant of $100,000 to $200,000 cash prize, depending on the size of their business, plus $25,000 for the Franca Sozzani Debut Talent Award. ready-to-wear, accessories and jewelry category winners will also receive a one-year mentorship program from London-based global luxury retailer Matches Fashion, which will carry their collections. Meanwhile, luxury retailer Harrods will carry the evening-wear category winner’s pieces.
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This years’ Advisory Board is comprised of some of the industries heavyweights: MILLE’s very own founder and creative director Sofia Guellaty, Condenast’s Adam Baidawi, artist and jeweler Ana Khouri, STYLE NOT COM founder Beka Gvishiani, photographer and director Carlijn Jacobs, global fashion director of i-D magazine Carlos Nazario, French fashion editor consultant and photographer Carlyne Cerf De Dudzeele, Caroline Issa, Rome-based designer and jewelry Deflina Delettrez Fendi, Fabio Piras, and New York-based stylist and editor Gabriella Karefa-Johnson, among others.
Read on to discover all of the Fashion Trust Arabia 2023 finalists.
Ready-to-wear
Ahmed Amer (Lebanon)
Ahmed Amer is a Beirut-based fashion designer and illustrator known for his minimalist and organic illustrations adorning his gender-fluid ready-to-wear collections.
Elise Testot (Syria)
As a Syrian-French designer based in Paris, Elise Koudsieh-Testot expresses her admiration of women’s beauty and her desire to dress them up through her work. Focusing on not just clothing, but also creative and art pieces, Testot designs silhouettes which are inspired by 1950’s aesthetics, combined with elegant, generous, bold and scenographic designs, all of which celebrate individuality and pay homage to her Syrian mother, who inspires her most.
Sarah Alhamdan (Saudi Arabia)
Infused with a celebration of creativity and design, Sarah Alhamdan’s brand Mood Of Thought is a radical experiment in collaboration and uncompromising environmental commitment. With a focus on environmental responsibility, innovation, and dialogue within our collaborative community, MOT creates layers of circularity, drawing inspiration from architecture, Art Deco, and 70’s interiors. Capsules made from inclusive, interchangeable styles can be adapted to any mood, body type, or style— minimalist or maximalist— a chameleon-like companion for someone who lives a dynamic, multifaceted life.
Zeid Hijazi (Jordan/Palestine)
A Central Saint Martins alumnus, Zeid Hijazi is a Jordanian-Palestinian designer who founded his brand in 2019. By presenting thought-provoking storytelling about a futuristic yet dystopian Arab universe, the brand incorporates echoes of Middle Eastern craftsmanship and heritage while challenging conventional norms. In 2020, Zeid won the FTA Debut Talent prize for designers just starting out. Eventually, he launched his own label after working in the industry.
Eveningwear
Amir Al Kasm (Syria)
In the interplay of good and evil, darkness and light, strength and vulnerability, Amir Al Kasm finds a sweet spot in a seamless fusion of power and refinement. Unique evening wear and bridal pieces are available for the bold and nuanced consumer, as well as up-cycled ready-to-wear items that tell stories of empowerment.
Cynthia Merhej (Lebanon)
With its fresh approach to occasion wear, Renaissance Renaissance stands out in the rarified world of female-led couture, celebrating the duality of the modern woman while evoking the elegance of historical craftsmanship. As a third generation couturier, Cynthia Merhej grew up in her mother’s atelier, learning about craftsmanship and its impact on women’s everyday lives. Mehrej developed her craft at a young age, sketching, styling, and photographing in her mother’s studio.
Sara Chraibi (Morocco)
From a young age, Sara Chraibi was taught many embroidery and sewing skills by her mother. Later in life, she moved to Paris to obtain her master’s degree, where she developed an interest in fashion. Her embroidery is a signature of the couture house she founded in 2014. In addition to her North African and Mediterranean influences, Chraibi’s collections have been exhibited during Paris Haute Couture Week.
Yassmin Saleh (Lebanon)
Yassmin Saleh is a sartorial love letter founded by Lebanese sisters Yassmin and Farah Saleh, translating the intangible through craftsmanship and unconventional techniques. Designed for women who appreciate the stories behind their clothing, the brand offers designer ready-to-wear.
Jewelry
Anas Alomaim (Kuwait)
Founded in 2017 by Anas Alomaim, OŪMÄEM is a jewelry design studio started with the aim to explore abstract pieces reflective of a new Arab identity. Inspired by the architecture of the Arab world, every jewelry object by OŪMÄEM is conceived as a play of a traditional form.
Katarina Tarazi (Lebanon)
A passion for cultural artifacts and their social significance drives Katarina Tarazi. She became fascinated with creating jewelry that holds secret messages and interacts mechanically with their wearer after collecting Victorian toys and trinkets as a child. Tarazi launched her brand in 2021, offering tactile jewelry that taps into our superstitions and desire for play. It is of course her hometown, Beirut, that makes her jewelry.
Nour Ben Cheikh and Clémentine Lecointre (Tunisia)
Nour Ben Cheikh and Clémentine Lecointre met in 2015 while working in a luxury fashion house (L and B, pronounced ‘ ÈLBÉ, meaning “my heart” in some Arabic dialects). ÈLBÉ was founded in 2018, and the letters L and B were intertwined into their brands emblem as an homage to friendship.The two women are also freelance designers for luxury brands such as Chanel, Hermès, and more.
Shereen Shawky (Egypt)
DYS-EUPHORIA is an experimental jewelry brand based in Cairo founded by Shereen Shawky that aims to grow organically by storytelling, culture, craftsmanship, and technology.
Accessories
Amel Batita (Algeria)
Amel Batita, a French designer based in Paris of Algerian and Tunisian origin, is the artist and designer of Amel Batita Silk scarves.
Dina Baheir (Egypt)
Founded by Dina Baheir, Scopa is a vibrant tribute to Egypt and Africa’s rich cultures, transforming wooden hand-holds into wearable works of art.
Omar Taha and Lily Max (Egypt)
Omar Taha and Lily Max both co-designed and creative directed, A BETTER FEELING along with Xander Ghost who is the founder. The brand is based in Cairo and fuelled by the desire of creating a connection and synergy between the product and individual.
Oubadah Nouktah (Syria)
Behind the geometric pieces of NOUKTAH, the material expresses itself, giving rise to bags of smooth radicality. NOUKTAH, which means “point” in Arabic, like the point of a seam, reveals the Syrian heritage of Oubadah Nouktah’s dressmaking ancestors.
Franca Sozzani Debut Talent
Adam Alaoui Elyasse (Morocco)
Adam Alaoui’s brand is called Adam.é which is where duality converges with aesthetic design and functionality. Embracing the harmony of contrasts, embodying the delicate dance between elegance and utility. With a meticulous focus on design, every detail reflects commitment to striking visual appeal.
Amina Galal (Egypt)
Amina Galal is an Egyptian fashion designer with a BFA in Fashion Design from Parsons Paris– The New School. Having lived and worked in multiple countries has fostered her appreciation of cultures, subcultures, and craftsmanship. In her approach to garment making, she emphasizes the human element, believing clothes are animate objects with a story, process, and purpose.
Batoul Omar al-Rashdan (Jordan)
A beacon of conscientious design in the fashion world, Studio B.O.R. bridges innovation and sustainability. With more than a decade of experience in design and digital fabrication, Batoul Omar al-Rashdan founded the brand to embody the spirit of responsible creativity. Studio B.O.R.’s creations seamlessly blend high-tech processes with eco-conscious materials. With 3D-printed dresses, headpieces, clutches and bags, and other bio-inspired accessories, each piece embodies art, technology, science, and ethical values.
Maïssane Nour Zinaï (Algeria)
After graduating from Central Saint Martins in London with a Fashion BA, Algerian-French designer Massane Nour Zina established her label ARIS-THANE. In a futuristic, dynamic, sport-oriented, elegant yet humorous way, it celebrates reality through fiction. Mixity is the key to ARISTHANE. It is a visceral need to tell stories and make shelters that motivates Zinaï’s work.
Guest Country: Nigeria (shortlisted by an independent Advisory Board in partnership with EMERGE)
Adeju Thompson
Adeju Thompson founded Lagos Space Programme in 2018 as a conceptual non-binary design label. Through multidisciplinary collaborative projects, the label offers intellectual, high-end ready-to-wear collections.
Iniye Tokyo James
With a base in menswear, Tokyo James is a Nigerian-British luxury fashion brand founded by Iniye Tokyo James in 2015. With a focus on menswear, he emphasizes the use of traditional Saville Row tailoring combined with unconventional Pantone and textile choices– gaining James a cult following around the world. The brand launched its womenswear line in 2022, combining bold designs with a modern and sultry aesthetic.
Kenneth Ize
Kenneth Ize explores and reinterprets a variety of cultural aesthetics. Using Nigerian craft as inspiration, Ize creates an original perspective on luxury design. With over a decade of experience working with Nigerian communities, the designer combines contemporary aesthetics and new approaches to production with a perceptibly local handcraft practice in order to celebrate the longstanding traditions within Nigerian craft and local artisanship.
Nkwo Onwuka
The African fashion industry is home to sustainability expert Nkwo Onwuka. By introducing innovative and more mindful ways of producing modern garments and textiles, she strives to promote a positive image of Africa and its rich history and traditions.
