Doha Festival City (DHFC) and Harper’s Bazaar unveiled on Sunday ‘Emerging Voices’, a fashion and creativity exhibition celebrating new talents in collaboration with Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Qatar (VCUarts Qatar).
‘Emerging Voices’ has been curated to support and promote VCUarts Qatar students and the evolving fashion scene in Qatar. The event programme will also welcome creatives from Scale7 next month.
In her opening speech, Noreen Nasralla, executive director, marketing, Al-Futtaim Real Estate, said: “With Emerging Voices, we reaffirm Doha Festival City’s role as a key player in Qatar’s fashion landscape, supporting the next generation of designers and setting the stage for Qatar’s creative future.
"Doha Festival City encourages engagement and self-expression, and we look forward to re-newing our live event line-up to inspire a legion of bright fashion instigators to come.”
Featured VCUart Qatar students Haya al-Thani, Halah Mahmoud, Samah Sulyman, Fay Alsharif, Jory al-Buainain, and Maya Yatim unveiled their work in fashion and editorial photography, demonstrating the creative potential that is shaping the future of Qatar's fashion scene.
On the reveal, Bianca Brigitte Bonomi, director of Harper’s Bazaar Qatar, said: “Today marks the start of an exciting collaboration between Harper’s Bazaar and Doha Festival City, celebrating the next generation of fashion talent emerging from Qatar. We're eager to continue building this community and supporting talented voices in Doha.”
Adding a comment on the impact and importance of the event, Christopher Fink, chair of Fashion Design and Merchandising at VCUArts Qatar, said: “It is very meaningful for our students to showcase their designs to the community and connect with leaders in the field of fashion. We look forward to future collaborations.”
Another highlight of the evening, Harper’s Bazaar’s Leading Voices segment, presented an in-conversation session with 14-time cover girl and influential women empowerment figure, Nour Arida, who shared highlights on the journey of her career and her work in supporting and nurturing female empowerment.
Commenting on the Emerging Voices pop-up collaboration between DHFC, Harper’s Bazaar Qatar, VCUarts Qatar, and Scale7, Arida said: “I am so impressed by the Qatari talent I have seen today at Emerging Voices. These young designers have produced incredible pieces of international level design and quality and fit for international markets. My advice to emerging talent is to dream big and keep going. Never give up. There is a real fashion moment happening with Arab designers internationally and it’s great to see the designers of tomorrow here today.”
On October 22, there will be a special pop-up at Harvey Nichols at DHFC, spotlighting three leading talents from Scale7.
Since its inception, DHFC has long supported the local and regional fashion and beauty scene by hosting international brands and designers that capture the essence of the local culture.
In the future, it enlists its vision and mission to continue to cater to the variety of local and international shoppers with variety fashion, luxury brands and exciting activities and events for diverse audiences, a statement added..
‘Emerging Voices’ has been curated to support and promote talented VCUarts Qatar students and the evolving fashion scene in Qatar (supplied pictures)
Nour Arida shares highlights on the journey of her career and her work in supporting and nurturing female empowerment during the in-conversation session at the event.
Featured VCUart students—Haya al-Thani, Halah Mahmoud, Samah Sulyman, Fay Alsharif, Al Jory al-Buainain, and Maya Yatim—unveiled their work in fashion and editorial photography at the event.
(From left) Jihad Zarkout, owner representative and assistant general manager, Basrec; Nehal Maher, senior marketing manager, DHFC; Noreen Nasralla; Nour Arida; Bianca Brigitte Bonomi; Christopher Barton, director, asset management, DHFC; and Michael Moles, retail operations manager, DHFC, at the event.
