Fashion Trust Arabia (FTA), a non-profit organisation, has announced the list of designers who have made the final cut for the FTA 2024 Awards in October.

This year’s awards ceremony will take place in Marrakech, Morocco, in partnership with the Years of Culture initiative to celebrate the Qatar-Morocco 2024 Year of Culture.

Started by Qatar Museums in 2012, the Years of Culture initiative spearheads international cultural exchange by forging meaningful, long-term partnerships between Qatar and countries around the globe. It was designed to cultivate mutual respect and deepen cross-cultural understanding, bringing diverse communities together through shared experiences.

The FTA 2024 Advisory Board was responsible for selecting 18 finalists from applications submitted by emerging talent from across the MENA region for a chance to win one of the six FTA Awards.

The advisory board included Adam Baidawi, Ana Khouri, Beka Gvishiani, Carlos Nazario, Carlyne Cerf de Dudzeele, Caroline Issa, Carmen Busquets, Erdem Moralıoğlu, Gabriella Karefa Johnson, Gaia Repossi, Law Roach, Ludovic de Saint Sernin, Michael Ward, Nadia Dhouib, Nina Garcia, Peter Dundas, Saif Mahdhi, Sara Sozzani Maino, Sarah Andelman, Sofia Guellaty, Susie Lau, Kevin Tekinel and Charles Levai, Ugo Mozie, Kelly Wearstler, LaQuan Smith and Delfina Delettrez.

The finalists will present their work to the FTA Jury in Marrakech on October 24. The winners will be announced during that evening’s FTA 2024 Awards ceremony.

The 2024 Finalists:

Ready-to-Wear Award
Kawthar Alhoraish (Saudi Arabia) – Nadine Mosallam (Egypt) – Naïma Trabelsi (Tunis)

Evening Wear Award
Hamza Guelmouss and Valentin Nicot (Morocco) – Tara Babylon (Iraq) – Yasmin Mansour (Egypt)

Jewellery Award
Karl Toufic Yazigi (Lebanon) – Noura Alserkal (United Arab Emirates) – Sara Naif AlSaud, Noura Abdulaziz Al Saud, Mashael Khalid Al Saud (Saudi Arabia)

Accessories Award
Dara Hamarneh (Jordanian/Palestinian) – Jihane Boumediane (Morocco) – Reem Hamed (Egypt)

Franca Sozzani Debut Talent Award
Mahmood Al Safi (Iraq) – Mira Maktabi (Lebanon) – Sylwia Nazzal (Palestinian/Jordanian)

Fashion Tech Award
Batoul al-Rashdan (Jordan) – Hazem Samy Ali (Egypt) – Sarah Salameh
(Palestine)

FTA Grant And 2024 Mentorships

The winning designers receive a $100,000 to $200,000 financial grant, depending on the size of their business, with $50,000 allocated for the Franca Sozzani Debut Talent Award.

Evening Wear, Ready-to-Wear, Accessories and Jewellery category winners’ collections will be carried by FTA’s retail partner, Harrods, for one season.

In addition to retail opportunities, FTA offers all winners incredible benefits, including a year-long mentorship with The Bicester Collection.

Huntsman will offer the Ready-to-Wear category winner an internship in London. As part of the internship, the winner will be creating a capsule collection to be sold on the retailer’s e-commerce platform.

Luxury ethical fashion retail platform Maison De Mode will offer a tailored mentorship, that focuses on the importance of sustainability and ethical fashion practices, to all the winners.

The winning designers will also take part in a two-day bespoke FTA mentorship program in London in partnership with The Bicester Collection, Brand x Society, and the British Fashion Council.

Keep watching this space and our socials for updates.

GO: Visit www.fashiontrustarabia.com for more information.