Fashion Trust Arabia unveils judging panel for 2020 FTA Awards

By

Gabriella Lacombe

Published
Jan 21, 2020

Fashion Trust Arabia (FTA), the charitable organization dedicated to supporting emerging talent in the Middle East and North Africa region, has announced the first round of judges who will sit on the judging panel of the second FTA Awards. 

The list of over 20 judges for the 2020 FTA Awards is a veritable who’s who of the fashion industry, including Adrian Cheng, executive vice-chairman and GM of New World Development; influencer and author Aimee Song; Carine Roitfeld; Christian Louboutin; Elie Saab; model and filmmaker, Farida Khelfa; Marc Jacobs; photographer Mario Sorrenti; Naomi Campbell; Olivier Rousteing; creative director of Balmain; Pierpaolo Piccioli; Thom Browne; Tory Burch; Yoon Ahn of Ambush; and Giancarlo Giammetti, co-founder and honorary president of Valentino, among others.

The panel announcement was made at an event held at the Embassy of Qatar in Paris on January 19, co-hosted by FTA founder, Tania Fares, as well as Roitfeld, Saab, Khelfa and Eman Al Kuwari, the wife of the Ambassador of Qatar to France. 

The event’s second round of judges will be revealed in February.

On March 25, the panel will assemble in Doha, Qatar at the National Museum of Qatar for the final round of the FTA competition, where 25 finalists—narrowed down from hundreds of MENA based applicants—will show their collections. Five winners will be chosen from five womenswear categories: evening wear, ready-to-wear, accessories (shoes/bags), and jewelry (fine and fashion jewelry). The winners will be announced at the awards ceremony that same evening.

According to the FTA, winners receive will receive a financial grant of up to $200,000, a one-year mentorship program from the London-based global luxury retailer Matchesfashion.com, and specialized guidance on sustainability from Maison de Mode.

This year’s FTA Awards will also include the new Franca Sozzani Debut Talent Award, which focuses on recent graduates with outstanding design talent.

The inaugural 2019 FTA judging panel included Victoria Beckham, Natalie Massenet, Alexander Wang, Diane Von Furstenberg, Antoine Arnault and Remo Ruffini, among others.