What should have been the second much anticipated annual FTA Prize Awards Ceremony back end of March was turned into a new digital judging process last April, as a result of the outbreak of Covid-19. Nevertheless this year’s FTA jury comprised some of the fashion industry’s leading figures including Alber Elbaz, Christian Louboutin, Giambattista Valli, Elie Saab and Oliver Rousteing, who selected 5 winners for the categories Ready-to-Wear, Evening-wear, Accessories (Shoes & Handbags), Jewellery, and the new Franca Sozzani Debut Talent Award introduced this year. Thanks to the vision and dedication of the Fashion Trust Arabia founders and board the FTA award was able to draw over 800 applicants from 13 Arab countries and award winners from Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Sudan.
And the winners are:
Omer Asim, (Sudan), Ready-to-Wear
Ammanii, (Egypt), Jewellery
Andrea Wazen, (Lebanon), Accessories
Yousef Akbar, (Saudi Arabia) Evening-wear
Zeid Hijazi, (Jordan), Franca Sozzani Debut Talent Award
Each winner took home a financial support of up to $200,000, and will benefit from an extensive mentorship program with key FTA partners. This includes a partnership with retailer MATCHESFASHION.COM, which will be stocking exclusively on its website the ss’21 collections of all FTA 2020 winners in addition to providing business mentorship.
“What is really inspiring and special about this year’s Awards is how much they highlight the diversity of talent that the MENA region holds. We had the pleasure of meeting such inspiring individuals from 13 Arab countries who, even in the most testing of times, showed their drive, passion and creativity. It was a truly hard decision for our judges to choose just five winners from the list of talented finalists, especially as each and every one of the designers work tirelessly in their respective countries to preserve their culture through design.”
FTA Co-Founder Tania Fares
Alongside its support for the 2020 Award winners, FTA is also running an emergency COVID-19 fund through the social campaign #StandWithCreatives. which has been an instrumental tool in spreading awareness and recognition of MENA region talent. The #StandWithCreatives fund is available to MENA designers producing in the region, more information can be found by visiting www.fashiontrustarabia.com.
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