Until 3 January 2026, M7 – Msheireb Downtown Doha is holding FTA: Threads of Impact, a major group show celebrating the 7th anniversary of Fashion Trust Arabia (FTA), a platform that supports emerging fashion talent from the MENA region. Curated by Omoyemi Akerele, Founder and CEO of Lagos Fashion Week, the exhibition charts the organisation’s impact on the regional and global fashion landscape.
The show features 80+ designers who have been supported, mentored, or recognised by FTA over the years, including FTA Prize winners, finalists, and special guest designers. The exhibition offers a colourful, immersive experience that traces how the participating creatives have interpreted cultural heritage, personal narratives, and contemporary identity through fashion.
The exhibition’s installation is anchored in a site-specific scenography that interweaves fashion with audio-visual storytelling. It helps visitors connect emotionally with the designers’ ideas and inspirations. Threads of Impact reflects not just garments and accessories, but a collective cultural narrative shaped by identity, resilience, community, and innovation.
The exhibits are organised across several thematic “threads” (zones), such as Urban Contemporary, Conscious Constructs, and Sculpted Forms. They highlight key creative values and visual languages shared by the participating designers. The zones explore intersections of streetwear influences, sustainability and material experimentation, as well as sculptural silhouettes that push fashion toward artful expression.
Among the featured creatives are Andrea Wazen (UAE/Lebanon), known for her eponymous luxury footwear brand blending Middle Eastern sophistication with Italian craftsmanship; designer Kazna Asker (UK/Yemen) whose work bridges community, activism, and gender narratives through couture-inspired pieces; and Yasmin Mansour (Qatar/Egypt), a recent FTA Prize winner recognised for sculptural eveningwear that intersects art and fashion.
Also on view are works by Boutique de Nana (BDN) (Yousra ElSadig) (Canada/UK), a multi-award-winning sustainable fashion house rooted in thoughtful design and empowerment; collaborative trio Mukhi Sisters (Maya, Meena, & Zeenat Mukhi) (Lebanon/India) who creates finely crafted jewellery, exploring heritage and expressive couture; and APOA (Noura Abdulaziz Al Saud, Sara Naif Al Saud, and Mashael Khalid Al Saud) (Saudi Arabia), a collaborative jewellery design house rooted in cultural DNA and contemporary expression.
Beyond these names, the exhibition presents other labels and creatives from across the region and the world, many of whom explore sustainability, identity, craft revival, and cross-cultural exchange as key elements of their practice.
To get more information about FTA: Threads of Impact, please visit the official web page of the exhibition.
Additionally, you might be interested in exploring The Only Way Out Is Through: The Twentieth Line and Woven Legacies: Uzbekistan’s Living Heritage. We would also recommend that you read our article about the Varanasi-style necklace, displayed at the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA).
