FTA 2022 Applications Launch

Fashion Trust Arabia is an annual non-profit organization that aims to provide financial support and business support as well as international recognition to the dynamic fashion designers in the MENA region. Fashion Trust Arabia launched in September 2018 under the patronage of HH Sheikha Moza Bint Nasser as honorary chair and co-chairs HE Sheikha Al-Mayassa bint Hamad Al-Thani and Tania Fares.

FTA is the only initiative of its kind operating in the Arab world, dedicated to finding and nurturing talented designers.

Applications are open to designers in the below womenswear categories:

Eveningwear
Ready-to-Wear (RTW)
Accessories (Shoes/Bags)
Jewelry (Fine Jewelry/Fashion Jewelry)
Debut Talent (MENA Fashion Design Graduates and Students 2020-2022)

For the Eveningwear, Ready-to-Wear, Accessories and Jewelry categories – Applicants must be in business for a minimum of two to 10 years.

Winners of these categories will receive a financial grant up to $200,000 for key areas of business development.

Grants are tailored to each winner in line with their brand objectives. Winners will also receive a personalized one-year mentoring program delivered by FTA’s retail partners and a global network of industry professionals, covering a variety of topics relevant to fashion businesses.

FTA’s international collaborating retailers will also stock the collections of the winning designers on their retail platforms.

Debut Talent – the Franca Sozzani Award is a category for applicants who are either studying or who have earned a fashion design degree, in 2020, 2021 or 2022, and are beginning to launch their professional career.

Applicants must be involved in womenswear and are required to submit a newly completed graduate collection via portfolio and images for consideration.

The winner will receive a financial grant of $25,000 to help jumpstart their business as well as a tailored mentorship program from industry figures and partners to develop their brand.

MENA nationality applicants can either be based in the MENA region or have an office or production facility in the MENA region. Applicants who don’t hold a MENA nationality but have their brand based in the MENA region are also welcome to apply, as they support the region by employing local artisans, sourcing materials and encouraging local production.

Please fill out the below application in the hopes of being awarded the FTA Prize. Also, do enclose your portrait if you happen to have one.

Each year, applications open in July and close at the end of November.

After application closing, the FTA Advisory Board reviews all the applications submitted and selects four finalists from each of FTA Prize’s five categories: Eveningwear, Ready-to-Wear, Accessories, Jewelry and Debut Talent.

The 20 finalists are announced at the end of January the following year. Then in March the finalists present their collections to FTA’s Judging Panel of international industry leaders at Judging Day in Doha, Qatar, where the judges collectively select five winning designers. There is one winner for each FTA Prize category.

The FTA Awards Ceremony takes place later that evening in the presence of HH Sheikha Moza Bint Nasser.