Fashion Trust Arabia names 2025 prize winners in Qatar

Fashion Trust Arabia (FTA), the non-profit organisation supporting emerging design talent from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), awarded the winners of its seventh annual FTA Prize at the National Museum of Qatar in Doha, celebrating designers across the region in ready-to-wear, evening wear, accessories and jewellery.

Moroccan designer Youssef Drisi, who founded his label Late For Work in 2020 after graduating from Casa Moda Academy in Casablanca, scooped the ready-to-wear prize, beating off tough competition from Saudi Arabia-based Shahd AlShehail and Iman Coccellato from Tunisia.

Saudi-based Ziyad Albuainain won the evening wear category, while the accessories award went to Morocco’s Leila Roukni for her label Talel, and Paris-based Egyptian Farah Radwan received the jewellery prize for her brand Fyr.

The winning designers in the evening wear, ready-to-wear, accessories and jewellery categories will each receive a financial grant between 100,000 and 200,000 US dollars, depending on the size of their business and yearly turnover, to support their business development. The winners’ collections will also be carried by FTA's retail partners, Harrods and Ounass, for one season, and each designer will receive a year-long mentorship with The Bicester Collection, including a two-day program in London in partnership with The Bicester Collection, Brand x Society, and the British Fashion Council.

In addition, this year the FTA has also partnered with luxury conglomerate Kering for the Franca Sozzani Debut Talent Award, which was presented to Bahrain-born, Switzerland-raised designer Alaa Alaradi, who graduated in 2024 with a master’s degree from HEAD – Geneva. As the winner, she receives 50,000 US dollars and bespoke mentoring.

Designers from Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Bahrain recognised at the 2025 Fashion Trust Arabia Prize

Other winners included Bahrain-based accessories label Touchless, founded by sisters Dalal and Fatema Alkhaja, which won the Fashion Tech Award for embracing 3D printing and eco-conscious techniques to reduce fashion industry waste in its designs. This year, India was also invited as a guest country, with designer Kartik Kumra, founder of New Delhi-based Kartik Research, presented with the guest country award, in partnership with the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre.

There were also two honorary awards, a Lifetime Achievement Award, which was presented to Miuccia Prada for her “profound impact on style, culture, and innovation,” and Lebanese couturier Zuhair Murad was presented with the trailblazer award for his “visionary contribution to fashion and his long-standing support of FTA”.

The winners were selected by a judging panel that included designers Christian Louboutin, Giambattista Valli, Amina Muaddi, Duran Lantink, creative director of Jean Paul Gaultier, and Zuhair Murad.

FTA was launched in 2018 under the patronage of HH Sheikha Moza bint Nasser as honorary chair, with co-chairs HE Sheikha Al-Mayassa bint Hamad Al-Thani and Tania Fares to provide financial awards and world-class industry mentorship for MENA region design talent who are ready for the international market.