00:04Fashion is becoming an increasingly important part of cultural diplomacy.
00:08Here in Toronto, designers from Qatar and across the region are joining Fashion Art Toronto
00:13as part of the Qatar, Canada and Mexico 2026 Year of Culture,
00:18using the runway to spark creative exchange between the Middle East and North America.
00:32Toronto may not be known as a global fashion capital, but for one week each year,
00:37Fashion Art Toronto turns the city into a showcase for emerging designers from around the world.
00:43This year, that includes a delegation from Qatar's creative hub M7.
00:49I think it's just a way to create relationships and international bonds
00:53and fashion is such an amazing space to do that because clothing is a way to express identity and culture
01:02and it's an exciting way for Torontonians to see what people are doing internationally.
01:10Among the designers making their Canadian debut is Ryan Alami.
01:14Raised in Qatar with Moroccan and Brazilian roots, his collection explores identity
01:19through the experience of living between cultures.
01:23I was never really able to identify myself as a culture because I lived in so many places
01:30and it brought me to a big question, what is identity?
01:36Alami's collection, Third Space, draws inspiration from those influences,
01:41blending heritage, movement and transformation.
01:44When I first got here, it was a place where I saw multi-creature, the people I saw.
01:50It wasn't really stemmed from one cultural background and I think this is something that the brand looks for.
01:57For designer Samah Soleiman, fashion is also about challenging expectations.
02:03Her collection reimagines denim through sculptural tailoring, recycled materials and 3D printing,
02:10blending sustainability with experimentation.
02:13I wanted to bring Western culture into my own culture.
02:18I wanted to make a culture so that it works together to bring the femininity and the masculinity into this
02:25one connection,
02:26one piece, one brand, all United Studios.
02:29I want people to actually see that our region can actually create something out of the world.
02:34The designers are in Canada through M7, a Doha-based hub that supports creatives and entrepreneurs.
02:42Alongside the runway shows, they're meeting industry professionals and exploring opportunities in the North American market.
02:48For an emerging designer, this is crucial in order to get, first of all, real-life industry experience.
02:55Second of all, to get very meaningful peer-to-peer connections, but also connections with international industry professionals.
03:03And third of all, also to be right there in the market and be seen on an international platform.
03:11The delegation also includes accessories brand Tasha and Leigh, founded by two friends who transform artwork into wearable scarves.
03:20We wanted to create something that blends art and fashion.
03:24And that's how we started Tasha and Leigh with silk scarves, square scarves, basically pieces of art that we turned
03:32into something you can wear.
03:34For us, it was the perfect accessory, because for the artist, it would be the perfect canvas, like it's a
03:40square, they can literally put their artwork on it.
03:43And for the customer who buys it, it's a way also of expressing themselves, because it becomes an extension of
03:50the person that they are.
03:53So it's an accessory that adapts to you, not the other way around.
03:56The visit comes as Qatar, Canada, and Mexico deepen cultural ties through the years of Culture Initiative, using creative industries
04:04as a bridge between communities.
04:08For the designers here, the runway is about more than style.
04:12It's a platform for identity, storytelling, and introducing Canadian audiences to a new generation of creative voices from Qatar and
04:20across the wider region.
04:22Adil Halim, Euronews, Toronto.
04:26Adil Halim.
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