Why fashion prizes matter most when nurturing home-grown talent

Last weekend, Qatar played host to the seventh Fashion Trust Arabia, an award rapidly becoming a bellwether for the region’s rising design talent. Conceived as both prize and platform, FTA offers not only funding, but also the kind of support that can open doors in an increasingly saturated global market.

This year’s winners reflect the breadth of the Middle East and North Africa’s creative landscape. Moroccan designer Youssef Drissi, founder of Late For Work, claimed the Ready-to-Wear award, while compatriot Leila Roukni secured the Accessories prize. In Evening Wear, the judges awarded Saudi designer Ziyad Albuainain, and Bahrain’s Touchless took home the Fashion Tech distinction. Egypt’s FYR emerged as the standout in the Jewellery category.

With grants ranging from $100,000 to $200,000, FTA’s backing provides a genuine financial lifeline. A runway show may offer the purest expression of a creative vision, but staging one can cost up to $150,000 – prohibitively expensive for young labels. Fashion prizes, in contrast, offer both financial firepower and global exposure, as well as proximity to industry power brokers that money cannot buy.

Moroccan label Late For Work won the Ready-to-Wear prize. Photo: Late For Work / Instagram

It’s a model with a proven pedigree. The International Woolmark Prize famously launched Karl Lagerfeld and Yves Saint Laurent in 1954. Since 1989, the British Fashion Awards – now simply the Fashion Awards – have helped elevate names such as Dior creative director Jonathan Anderson (who was in Qatar for the FTA ceremony), Burberry's Daniel Lee, Grace Wales Bonner of Hermes, Erdem, Craig Green and Simone Rocha.

The LVMH Prize has boosted talents from Thebe Magugu to Casablanca by Charaf Tajer, while the CFDA Fashion Fund has long been a springboard for American designers, including Thom Browne and The Row. The Queen Elizabeth II Award for British Design has similarly expanded the exposure of SS Daley, Priya Ahluwalia and Richard Quinn.

Evidently, the case for financial aid in building long-term, sustainable careers is overwhelming.

Italian photographer Francesco Carrozzini and Vogue's Anna Wintour at the awards ceremony held in National Museum of Qatar. Getty

Since launching in 2018, the non-profit FTA has been replicating the same grass roots support. In the UAE capital, the Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Foundation x Dolce & Gabbana prize offers a paid internship to Emirati fashion and jewellery designers, while Dubai Fashion Week continues to raise the profile of regional designers with its roll-call of global brands, with Italian designer Alberta Ferretti the latest guest of honour confirmed for the February 2026 edition.

In Saudi Arabia, the Fashion Fund was announced in September. Rather than a prize, it is set up for private equity investments, but its focus on fashion is still noteworthy.

FTA benefits from the considerable backing of Mayhoola, the Qatari investment group behind Valentino, Balmain and Pal Zileri – support the fashion weeks of London and New York, both under strain, must eye with envy. Mayhoola chief executive Rachid Mohamed Rachid sits on the FTA board and judging panel, while Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, the mother of Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim, serves as honorary chair.

Saad Al Kharji, left, chairman of Qatar Tourism, and award-winning designer Youssef Drissi. WireImage

Their involvement ensures the calibre of attention few emerging designers could otherwise hope to access. This year alone, FTA attracted luminaries including Balenciaga creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli, Conde Nast chief content officer Anna Wintour, French actresses Juliette Binoche and Isabelle Adjani, and Hollywood actor Adrien Brody.

The 2025 jury comprised Lebanese couturiers Zuhair Murad and Rabih Kayrouz, Italian designer Giambattista Valli, Swiss-Chilean model Paloma Elsesser, Schiaparelli creative designer Daniel Roseberry, Jordanian-Romanian shoe designer Amina Muaddi and Imran Amed, founder of Business of Fashion. Miuccia Prada, meanwhile, flew into the Qatari capital to accept a Lifetime Achievement Award.

For designers, the exposure such events and platforms brings is invaluable. Palestinian designer Ayham Hassan, for example, picked up the Debut Talent award, soon after winning the British Fashion Council x Net-a-Porter and the Mr Porter Education Fund awards.

With work that draws heavily on his Palestinian heritage, and filled with traditional embroidery made by women in the West Bank, Hassan told TN Magazine that such platforms brought him to a new audience, while nods from industry leaders serve as validation to continue. “It was incredible to be recognised,” he said.

Guests and prize-winners at the ceremony. Photo: Fashion Trust Arabia / Instagram

In an industry where two-thirds of start-ups fold within a decade, an infusion of capital – paired with mentorship – can mean the difference between a label gaining traction or quietly vanishing.

With its reach and credibility, Fashion Trust Arabia offers a blueprint for nurturing emerging talent while elevating the region’s creative standing. Having paved the way, and with similar ecosystem-building prizes now increasingly available across the region, the future looks bright for young Arab designers.