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Fatma Mostafa's Hold II pendant is a small landscape embroidered in cotton thread and held inside a sculpted gold-plated silver frame. In 2022 she won the Fashion Trust Arabia jewellery prize. The awards were first given in Doha in 2019, with prizes for ready-to-wear, evening wear, accessories and jewellery, and later a prize for debut talent. Nineteen of the winners and finalists since then are on eshtery. The 2026 ceremony is in Doha on 28 November, with 21 finalists across seven categories.
The winners
Salim Azzam and Roni Helou, ready-to-wear, 2019
The first ready-to-wear prize was shared. Salim Azzam embroiders by hand: the golden bird charm, embroidered in white, cream and metallic gold, $200, or a bird in denim, 16 by 14 centimetres of hand-embroidered cotton on a gold lobster clasp, $190. Roni Helou, the other 2019 winner, works from Beirut.
- Golden bird charm, Salim Azzam, USD 200
- A bird in denim, Salim Azzam, USD 190
Mukhi Sisters, jewellery, 2019
Mukhi Sisters took the first jewellery prize. The Better Than Yesterday necklace in lapis hangs a gold-plated sterling silver heart framed by rays of blue enamel from a beaded strand, $710.
Andrea Wazen, accessories, 2020
Andrea Wazen won accessories in 2020 for shoes made in Italy. The Valentina ankle boot is brown suede on a 105-millimetre stiletto, with a side zip and the label's heart detail at the back, $1,075.
Fatma Mostafa, jewellery, 2022
Fatma Mostafa trained first in embroidery, which her mother taught her, then in oil painting, and founded her jewellery label in 2017. The Hold II pendant, $180, comes on a matching chain. The Frame bracelet suspends an irregular circle of gold-plated silver on green cotton thread, $230.
- Hold II pendant, Fatma Mostafa, USD 180
- Frame Bracelet, Fatma Mostafa, USD 230
Katarina Tarazi, jewellery, 2023
Katarina Tarazi won the jewellery prize in the 2023 edition. The Leo capsule in sardonyx hangs from an adjustable black cord with an 18k gold logo, $800.
A Better Feeling, accessories, 2023
Omar Taha and Lily Max won accessories in 2023 for A Better Feeling. The SL8 sunglasses are a rectangle of black acetate with tone-on-tone black nylon lenses, $214. A second SL8 swaps in cloud-blue lenses at the same price.
Ahmed Amer, ready-to-wear, 2023
Beirut-based Ahmed Amer won the 2023 ready-to-wear prize with his label amer. The Zaytoun thobe is grey, high-collared and full length, with white aghabani embroidery on the sleeves, $485.
RAMLA, accessories, 2024
Reem Hamed, born and raised in Cairo, founded RAMLA in June 2017 and was an accessories finalist in 2020 before she won in 2024. The mules are handcrafted in Egypt and carry the old symbols in thread: the Nilofer is a pointed flat mule embroidered with lotus flowers, and the Fayrouz carries the sacred scarab. Both are about $270.
- NILOFER, RAMLA, EGP 12,850 (about $270)
- FAYROUZ Grounded, RAMLA, EGP 12,850 (about $270)
The finalists
Okhtein reached the accessories final in the first edition, 2019; the embossed pochette with lock is cowhide pressed with the label's palmette, $450. The same year, Reemami and Nafsika Skourti were ready-to-wear finalists, and Nafsika Skourti reached the ready-to-wear final again in 2020; her Aria drawstring skirt gathers lightweight taffeta into an asymmetric shape, $380.
- Embossed Pochette with Lock, Okhtein, USD 450
- Aria Drawstring Skirt, Nafsika Skourti, USD 380
In 2020 Shahira Lasheen, an Egyptian couture and bridal house founded in 2015, was an evening wear finalist; its white floral taffeta fascinator is $119. Emergency Room, which Eric Mathieu Ritter launched in Beirut in 2018 to make one-off clothes from reclaimed vintage textiles, was a ready-to-wear finalist the same year; its collarless jacquard jacket is blue and white, single-breasted, $120.
- White Floral Tafetta Fascinator Headpiece, Shahira Lasheen, USD 121
- COLLARLESS JACQUARD TAILORED JACKET (BLUE), Emergency Room, USD 120
Lama Jouni reached the ready-to-wear final in 2021. Amina Galal was a debut talent finalist and Yassmin Saleh an evening wear finalist in 2023. Dara Hamarneh, whose bags are made in a family-owned factory in Tuscany, was an accessories finalist in 2024. In 2025, Shahd AlShehail's Abadia, which Fashion Trust Arabia describes as the first Saudi brand to launch on Net-a-Porter, reached the ready-to-wear final.
The edit
The 2026 winners are announced in Doha on 28 November.
— The editors
