Fashion Trust Arabia (FTA) has announced the shortlist for the 2025 Awards, confirming the designers who will compete across six categories and a guest country prize.
Eighteen finalists were selected from across the Middle East and North Africa, along with three finalists from India, this year’s guest country.
The finalists will present their collections before the FTA Jury in Doha this winter, on the 22nd of November, with the winners announced at the evening awards ceremony.
Finalists by Category
Ready-to-Wear: Shahd AlShehail (Abadia, Saudi Arabia), Youssef Drissi (Late for Work, Morocco), Iman Coccellato (Coccellato, Tunis).
Evening Wear: Ziyad Albuainain (Ziyad Buainain, Saudi Arabia), Dana Almulla (Dana Almulla, Qatar), Sharifa Alsharif Alhashemi (Onori, United Arab Emirates).
Accessories: Leila Roukni (Talel, Morocco), Duha Bukadi (Duha, Tunis), Sharifa Alsulaiti and Altaf Almudhayan (Thuna, Kuwait).
Jewellery: Patrick Boghossian (Patrick Boghossian Jewellery, Lebanon), Farah Radwan (FYR Jewelry, Egypt), Clara Chehab (Clara Chehab Fine Jewelry, Lebanon).
Franca Sozzani Debut Talent Award: Alaa Alaradi (Bahrain), Ayham Hassan (Palestine), Fatma Elshabbi (Libya).
Fashion Tech: Assaad Awad (Awad, Lebanon), Zahia Albakri (Zahya, Jordan), Fatema and Dalal Alkhaja (Touchless, Bahrain).
Guest Country Partnership: The Indian finalists are Kartik Kumra (Kartik Research), Ankur Verma (TIL), and Akhil Nagpal (AKHL).
Prizes and Mentorships
Winners will receive financial grants ranging from $100,000 to $200,000, with $50,000 allocated to the Franca Sozzani Debut Talent Award. Collections from the Ready-to-Wear, Evening Wear, Accessories and Jewellery winners will be stocked for one season by Harrods and Ounass.
Additional support includes a year-long mentorship with The Bicester Collection. Huntsman will offer the Ready-to-Wear winner an internship in London, including the opportunity to create a capsule collection for the retailer’s e-commerce platform. All winners will also join a two-day bespoke mentorship programme in London with The Bicester Collection, Brand x Society and the British Fashion Council.
