Fashion Trust Arabia (FTA), the charitable organisation supporting emerging talent in the MENA region, is pleased to announce the first round of judges to join the FTA 2020 Awards ceremony Judging Panel.
A special reception was held at the Embassy of Qatar in Paris, on Sunday 19th January 2020, in honour of all FTA members, to mark the announcement of the Judging Panel. The event was co-hosted by FTA Founder Tania Fares, Carine Roitfeld, Elie Saab and Farida Khelfa and Mrs Eman Al Kuwari, wife of the Ambassador of Qatar to France.

FTA (Fashion Trust Arabia) Winner Selection – the Jury’s role

The Judging Panel is responsible for the selection of 5 designer winners from 5 womenswear categories: Eveningwear, Ready-to-Wear, Accessories (Shoes/Bags), and Jewellery (Fine & Fashion Jewellery). This year the Awards also include the new Franca Sozzani Debut Talent Award (Arab Fashion Design Graduates 2018-2019), which focuses on recent graduates with outstanding design talent and potential to kick start their business. The recently introduced FTA Advisory Board will create a shortlist of 25 finalists from all applications for the 2020 Awards. Advisory board members for this year’s prize include Sarah Andelman, Tim Blanks, Carmen Busquets, Jefferson Hack, Natalie Kingham, Gianluca Longo, Sara Sozzani Maino, Sofia Guellaty, Julie Gilhart, Sarah Mower and Fabio Piras.
The 25 finalists will showcase their collections in Doha, Qatar on 25th March 2020 to FTA’s Judging Panel, who will then select the 5 winning designers from the shortlisted finalists. The winners will be announced at the awards ceremony that same evening, under the patronage and presence of HH Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, at the newly opened National Museum of Qatar, designed by renowned architect, Jean Nouvel.

The 2020 Judging Panel – first round announcement

FTA is pleased to announce the following list of judges at the FTA 2020 Award Ceremony. This prestigious committee continues the legacy of the 2019 judging panel which included Victoria Beckham, Natalie Massenet, Alexander Wang, Diane Von Furstenberg, Antoine Arnault and Remo Ruffini to name a few.
The 2020 Judges are:

• Adrian Cheng, Executive Vice-Chairman & GM of New World Development
• Aimee Song, Influencer and Best-Selling Author
• Alber Elbaz, Fashion Designer
• Carine Roitfeld, Editor-in-Chief and Fashion Director
• Christian Louboutin, Shoe Designer
• Daniel Arsham, Artist
• Elie Saab, Fashion Designer
• Elizabeth Saltzman, Celebrity Stylist
• Farida Khelfa, Model
• Gaia Repossi, Jewellery Designer
• Laura Brown, InStyle US Editor-in-Chief
• Marc Jacobs, Fashion Designer
• Mario Sorrenti, Photographer
• Michele Lamy, Entrepreneur & Business Partner Rick Owens
• Naomi Campbell, Model
• Olivier Rousteing, Creative Director, Balmain
• Pierpaolo Piccioli, Creative Director, Valentino
• Thom Browne, Fashion Designer
• Tory Burch, Fashion Designer
• Yoon Ambush, Fashion Designer & Dior Homme Director of Jewellery
• Giancarlo Giammetti, Founder & Honorary President of Valentino

www.fashiontrustarabia.com