Doha: Qatar Museums today opened three major exhibitions at M7, Qatar's epicentre for innovation and entrepreneurship in design, fashion, and technology. These exhibitions offer a unique opportunity to explore a range of creative disciplines spanning fashion, jewellery and artistry from Qatar and beyond. The line-up includes, FTA: Threads of Impact. Celebrating 7 Years of Fashion Trust Arabia; Houbara Haven: A Chaumet Tiara; and Amazigh Hair Couture.

The exhibitions were officially unveiled by Her Excellency Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Chairperson of Qatar Museums, in the presence of Tania Fares, Co-Founder and Co-chair of FTA, and Mrs. Aisha Hussain Alfardan, Personal Advisor to the Chairman of Alfardan Corporation, among other prominent dignitaries, artists and cultural figures from Qatar and around the world.

FTA: Threads of Impact. Celebrating 7 Years of Fashion Trust Arabia marks the seventh anniversary of Fashion Trust Arabia (FTA), the pioneering initiative that offers unique opportunities to emerging fashion designers from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The exhibition, which charts FTA's transformative impact in shaping the careers of emerging designers from across the MENA region, is presented by FTA in collaboration with M7. Threads of Impact features the work of more than 80 designers supported by FTA, including winners and finalists of the FTA Prize and special guest country designers.

The exhibition, curated by Omoyemi Akerele, the founder and CEO of Lagos Fashion Week, brings together designers whose diverse practices are connected through shared ideas, iconographies, and cultural references. Together, they demonstrate how personal narratives interlace and reflect a multifaceted vision of Arab fashion today, affirming FTA's ongoing commitment to empowering diverse voices and stories on the world stage. As FTA returns to Doha after its stint in Morocco for the Qatar-Morocco 2024 Year of Culture, FTA: Threads of Impact embodies YoC's mission to showcase the richness of the Arab region.

On view simultaneously, Houbara Haven: A Chaumet Tiara presented by M7 and Maison Chaumet, unveils the winning design by Qatari artist and jewellery designer Aisha Alattiya. Commissioned by Alfardan Jewellery and Qatar Museums, the bespoke tiara was crafted by the Parisian High Jewellery Maison at 12 Place Vendôme. The exhibition traces the tiara's journey from concept to creation, offering visitors behind-the-scenes insights into the collaborative process between Alattiya and Maison Chaumet.
Alattiya's design, Houbara Haven, opens new creative ground and expands Chaumet's timeless code with nature, reinterpreted through a distinctly Qatari perspective. The piece pays homage to Qatar's desert landscapes and the extraordinary wildlife that inhabits them. The tiara depicts a 'houbara' bird seeking refuge in the pearl-like blossoms and fruit of the 'Awsaj' tree, which forms a protective sanctuary for the 'houbara' from a falcon on the wing. The tiara project was born out of the Chaumet & Nature exhibition, celebrating Maison Chaumet's nature-inspired jewellery and Qatar's natural heritage, held at M7 in Doha, as part of the legacy of the Qatar-France 2020 Year of Culture.

The exhibitions are also presented alongside Amazigh Hair Couture, an exhibition that celebrates the artistry, heritage, and cultural symbolism of Amazigh hair traditions, specifically from Morocco. Led by Creative Director Ilham Mestour, a Moroccan-born, Netherlands-based artist and curated by Rajae El Mouhandiz, an interdisciplinary artist and curator based in Rotterdam, the exhibition brings together fine art photography, scent, hair installations, textile works, and ethnographic archival material, Amazigh Hair Couture reclaims authorship of the aesthetic traditions of the Amazigh people, the Indigenous communities of North Africa with traditions rooted primarily across Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia, which have been historically co-opted by the global fashion industry. This exhibition is organised as a legacy of the Qatar - Morocco 2024 Year of Culture, which was one of the initiative's most beloved celebrations, with a strong legacy of ongoing partnerships across heritage, creative economies, social and economic development and innovation.

In parallel with the exhibitions, M7 presents a Special Commissioned Project, featuring large-scale textile installations by Qatar-based artists and designers Yasmin Mansour, Bouthayna Al Muftah, and Mashael Alnaimi. Conceived in celebration of the seventh anniversary of Fashion Trust Arabia, each artist reimagines the dialogue between material experimentation to cultural narratives and conceptual storytelling, offering visitors a monumental encounter with textiles in a new light. Yasmin Mansour's Sailing from the World to Qatar transforms her signature layered technique into a sculptural composition inspired by Qatar's maritime heritage; Bouthayna AlMuftah's Mahmiya (A Reserve) reflects on collective memory and folklore through a woven structure that cocoons the viewer; and Mashael AlNaimi's Al Zeina pays tribute to the resilience and timeless elegance of Gulf women through materials drawn from ancestral craftsmanship.

All three exhibitions offer a compelling reflection of the region's artistic journey, offering the public an exciting opportunity to explore the depth of creativity emerging from the Arab world, highlighting how regional designers and artists are shaping global dialogues around culture, identity, and craftsmanship. The exhibitions are presented as part of Evolution Nation, an 18-month campaign honouring Qatar's cultural journey over the past 50 years, since the founding of the National Museum of Qatar. Curated by Qatar Creates, the national movement positioning Qatar as a global hub for art, culture, and creativity, Evolution Nation highlights both the nation's cultural milestones and its aspirations for the future.

MENAFN27102025000063011010ID1110251775