They impressed a jury with their creative vision, technical expertise and their unique approach to design. Now, meet the seven creators, chosen from eleven participants, to become the first to showcase their brands and sell their capsule collections in a dedicated M7 x Printemps Doha concept space in 2023.
M7 is Qatar’s epicenter for innovation and entrepreneurship in fashion, design and technology. Established by Qatar Museums under the leadership of Her Excellency Sheikha Al-Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, M7 is committed to encouraging the local fashion and design industry to play their part in the growth of Qatar’s creative circular ecosystem.
Founded in 1865 in Paris by Jules Jaluzot, Printemps is one of France’s leading department stores. For the first time, Printemps will bring its unique French savoir faire to Qatar with the opening of a flagship department store in Doha, comprising a retail space of more than 40,000sq/m.
M7 X Printemps Doha is a program run under the supervision of fashion designer Roni Helou, through which eleven candidates prepared themselves to enter the retail market by learning the right overall approach, each with their own project. After introducing their brand to a jury panel composed of industry experts and retail professionals from M7 and Printemps Doha, last September, seven of them where shortlisted to undergo a five-month long preparation period. The program will include workshops and coaching sessions on a range of topics including: Retail Buyer Behavior, Design Development, Sampling and Production, Marketing and Communication, Sales and Distribution and Visual Merchandising, alongside several one-on-one mentorship sessions in Design Development and Production and Supply Chain.
The finalists of “The Collective” project are: Rawan AlNassiri, founder of SDN, a contemporary womenswear line based in Doha; Zulfa Althani, founder of Poze, an affordable, playful, and collaborative luxury and demi-couture brand for women; Japanese fashion designer Sayuri Kurotsu and Italian designer Giovanni Innellaaref, founders of Shirotsu, a conceptual fashion studio; Amna Ahmed Al-Misned, founder of TRZI, a modern abaya brand, reimagining the tradition garment; Abdulrahman Al Ahmad and Eid Al-Sulaiti, founders of The /// Project, a brand that revisits the basics of the local younger generation’s wardrobes; Dana Riad, founder of Dana Riad, a brand that represents a marriage between heritage and modernity and romance; Kaltham Al Majid, founder of Kaltham’s Pavilion that aims to represent Qatari culture by incorporating tradition and nature into fine jewelry pieces.
