Every year, we eagerly wait for the FTA Awards and this one is no exception. And now that the non-profit organization has announced the designers who have made the finalist list, the excitement reached new levels. The FTA 2023 Advisory Board was responsible for selecting 20 designer finalists from applications submitted by emerging talent from across the MENA region, for a chance to win one of the 5 FTA Awards, in addition to the Guest Country Award, Nigeria, to which 4 finalists have been shortlisted by an independent Advisory Board. Helping young creatives in emerging markets build a global network of contacts and support systems lies at the core of this event and collaboration with Nigeria.  

For the next step, the finalists will present their work to the FTA Jury in Doha on 25 October 2023. Then, the 6 winners will be announced during the FTA 2023 Awards ceremony. These finalists were nominated as follows:

Ready-to-Wear Award: Ahmed Amer (Lebanon), Elise Testot (Syria), Sarah Alhamdan (Saudi Arabia), and Zeid Hijazi (Jordan).

Eveningwear Award: Amir Al Kasm (Syria), Cynthia Merhej (Lebanon), Sara Chraibi (Morocco), and Yassmin Saleh (Lebanon).

Jewelry Award: Anas Alomaim (Kuwait), Katarina Tarazi (Lebanon), Nour Ben Cheikh & Clémentine Lecointre (Tunis), and Shereen Shawky (Egypt).

Accessories Award: Amel Batita (Algeria), Dina Baheir (Egypt), Omar Taha & Lily Max (Egypt), and Oubadah Nouktah (Syria).

Franca Sozzani Debut Talent Award: Adam Alaoui Elyasse (Morocco), Amina Galal (Egypt), Batoul Omar al-Rashdan (Jordan), and Maïssane Nour Zinaï (Algeria).

Guest Country Award: Adeju Thompson, Iniye Tokyo James, Kenneth Ize, and Nkwo Onwuka.