In its second edition, Fashion Trust Arabia, the foremost award in the Arab World for designers, founded in 2018 by Tania Fares and co-chaired by HH Sheikha Al-Mayassa Bint Hamad Al-Thani and under the patronage and honorary chair of HH Sheikha Moza Bint Nasser has announced the 25 finalists. Over 570 designers from across the Arab world applied to compete in 5 categories: Accessories, Jewelry, Ready-to-wear, Evening Wear and Debut Talent. A stellar advisory board pre-selected the 25 finalists that will now compete to take home the prize money of up to 200,000 Euros per category. The unparalleled line up of judges of this year’s FTA edition include the likes of Elie Saab, Alber Elbaz, Christian Louboutin and Marc Jacobs to mention a few.
Meet some of the designers, whose work has captured the attention of the advisory board and with the help of the judges are ready to take the step up to the next level:
Accessories:
Andrea Wazen: The Lebanese shoe designer, sister of social media influencer Karen Wazen, studied at Marangoni Paris and produces her line of shoes in Beirut.
Èlbé: The Tunisian brand founded by Clementine L. and Nour B. offers limited edition of mixed accessories produced around the Mediterranean Sea and made from up-cycled material.
Ramla: Egyptian designer Reem started her shoe brand in . The mules take inspiration from Ottoman and Moroccan design and are manufactured in Egypt.
Liudmila: Founded by Kuwaiti designer Naeeba Hayat in 2014, the foot wear brand is known for sexy heels and boots and can be found on Farfetch.com.
Zakaria Bendriouich: the Moroccan bag designer and artisan works with recycled material
Jewlery:
Alexandra Hakim: The BritishLebanese jewellery maker and designer is known for her provocative designs since she started her brand in Beirut in 2016.
Ammanii: Designer Amany Shaker takes inspiration from her Egyptian heritage.
Oumaem: The avant garde fine jewllery line was founded by Anas Alomaim.
Kamushki: Libyan sisters Mariam and Dania Sawedeg created the fine jewellery brand inspired by their multicultural upbringing growing up between Zurich, Dubai and Tripoli.
Tamarzizt: Oumaima Tamarziz lives and works between Paris and Tunis and mixes influences of the East and West.
Ready-to-wear:
Beige: Launched in 2017 by Muna Al Othaiman a graduate of Esmod Dubai Beige fuses clean silhouettes with impeccable tailoring.
Born in Exile: Ibrahim Shebani a Libyan in exile raised between Egypt and Germany aims to show the world the beauty of Lybia through his designs.
Emergency Room: Launched by Eric Ritter, the brand is ethically produced In Lebanon the uses dead stock materials.
Nafsika Skourti: The Greek-Jordanian designer launched her first collection during Paris fashion week in 2014.
Omer Asim: The Sudanese graduate from Central Saint Martins works between Khartoum and London and has already earned international press recognition.
Evening Wear:
Bazza Alzouman: The Kuwaiti designer graduated from Parsons NY and worked for Naem Khan before launching her namesake label in 2014 back home in Kuwait.
Ilyes Ouali : The Algerian designer first made headlines when he won the 2019 edition of Fashion Star Arabia.
Sara Mrad: Lebanese designer Sara Mrad who trained at Rabih Kayrouz and Zuhair Murad launched her label of romantic evening wear in 2013.
Shahira Lasheen: The Egyptian designer who has dressed many of Egypt’s celebrities has made a name for her intricately embroidered gowns.
Yousef Akbar: The Saudi designer first debuted his brand at Australia Mercedes Benz Fashion Week in 2017 and has since then made a name for ethical and responsible couture.
Debut Talent:
Ahmed Sorour: The Egyptian from Mansoura, graduated from AUC moved to London in 2017 for his Masters degree from LCF. His brand upcycles Egyptian street style and pop culture visions into high end genderless garments.
Fatima Al Baker: The graduate from Qatar’s Virginia Commonwealth University recently launched her label that fuses traditional wear with art.
Intissar Baiz: The fresh graduate from Morocco showcased her first collection at Cape Town Fashion week and loves to work with bold colors and vibrant patterns.
Maya Chantout: The 25-year old Syrian graduated from Parisian school La Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne, and was the winner of the LVMH fashion graduate prize.
Zeid Hijazi: The Jordanian designer is a graduate from Central Saint Martins London.
