Fashion Trust Arabia Goes To Mayfair, Brings Its Boldest Emerging Designers to London

London has long been a city that absorbs ambition. This June, it absorbed something else entirely: the creative force of a new generation of designers from the Arab world, gathered under the banner of Fashion Trust Arabia for a week of mentorship, retail, and celebration at the very heart of the British fashion establishment.

The week opened on June 2nd with an intimate cocktail reception co-hosted by Megha Mittal and Tania Fares, co-founder and co-chair of Fashion Trust Arabia. The room at Harrods brought together a constellation of names from across fashion and culture — among them Christopher Kane, Harris Reed, Dilara Findikoglu, Hamish Bowles, Nicky Hilton, and Roksanda Ilinčić — all gathered in support of a mission that goes well beyond glamour.

"Supporting emerging talent goes far beyond visibility — it is about creating real opportunities, fostering mentorship, and helping designers build sustainable businesses."

Tania Fares, Co-Founder, FTA

That mission took on tangible form on June 5th, when Harrods — FTA's longstanding retail partner — hosted a breakfast celebrating the in-store launch of four winning collections. It marked the fourth consecutive year that the Knightsbridge institution has opened its doors to FTA's talent, a partnership that continues to offer something rare: genuine commercial access on a global stage.

This year's winners span the full breadth of fashion: Youssef Drissi's Late For Work took the Ready-to-Wear award, Ziyad Buainain claimed Eveningwear, Leila Roukni's Talel won Accessories, and Farah Radwan's FYR was honoured for Jewelry. Their collections are now available both in-store and on harrods.com, reaching an audience that is by definition international.

But the week's most lasting offering may have been the mentorship programme that ran from June 2nd to 4th — a series of sessions with voices like Emilia Wickstead, Sabrina Elba, and Kenya Hunt, covering everything from retail strategy and branding to wellbeing and creative development.

Poppy Lomax, Head of Buying at Harrods, put it plainly: the collaboration is not a traditional endorsement. "We want to not only provide a stage to showcase these incredibly deserving designers to our global clientele, but to support them through mentorship and advice as they continue to grow and develop."

Founded in 2018 as a non-profit dedicated to supporting emerging MENA designers through financial grants and international exposure, FTA has steadily built one of the most meaningful pipelines between regional fashion talent and global industry infrastructure. London 2026 is not a debut — it is a deepening. And for the designers who walked through Harrods' doors this June, the world that awaits is considerably closer than it was before.

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