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British Arab label Qasimi is launching its first-ever incubator, dedicated to supporting emerging labels and nurturing new talent in fashion after a period of tumultuous transition.
Called Qasimi Rising, the incubator will accept applicants and then choose two designers to mentor over the next three years. Brands will be selected based on exhibiting excellent creativity and aesthetic sense and craftsmanship within their design, being a responsible entrepreneur and having a clear plan for future growth.
Over the course of the mentorship, they will have access to Qasimi’s resources, including a co-working space and studio, as well as production, product development, merchandising, marketing and business function support from a network of industry leaders that the brand has previously worked with such as Erin Roberts, a marketing and communications expert with clients such as 3.1 Phillip Lim, JW Anderson and Ganni; creative and art director Nicolas Santos; Jay Solanki, a merchandising expert who has worked in senior positions at Burberry and Calvin Klein who will also act as mentors for the initiative. Also on the judging panel are GQ Middle East editor-in-chief Ahmad Swaid; Yuko Hasegawa, director of the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa; and Cuban-born artist María Magdalena Campos-Pons, who will be the selection process along with Qasimi’s creative director Hoor Al Qasimi.
“Qasimi's goal is to champion and foster young creative talent within the global fashion industry, so they are bringing in expertise across the brand-building spectrum as partners to help new talents develop their brands,” says Roberts.
Qasimi — itself an emerging fashion label — may not be the most obvious choice to oversee an incubator. Founded in 2015, the streetwear brand borrows from its founder Khalid Al Qasimi’s Arab heritage and takes a cross-cultural approach to fashion that has been a fruitful differentiator. When Al Qasimi (the second son of Sultan bin Muhammad Al-Qasimi, ruler of Sharjah in the UAE since 1972) passed away in 2019 at age 39, many wondered what was next for the independent label. Almost seamlessly, his twin sister, Hoor Al Qasimi, stepped into the creative director role.
“I did not want to make quick decisions when I took over. I wanted to figure out what my role was in fashion that can be different but can also honour my brother's legacy,” says Hoor Al Qasimi, who set up the Sharjah Art Foundation in 2009. The pandemic and Brexit meant she had to make some pivots, such as opening an office in Amsterdam to stay connected to European retailers and suppliers. In a difficult time for all independent brands, Al Qasimi realised that her label needed to do more yet produce less. “Brands produced too much, and this was a concern. We all need to learn that not everything you produce is selected for sales.” It was putting both these thoughts together that resulted in Qasimi Rising.
“The idea is to mentor and share resources with other young creative brands.” While there is no fixed cash prize, Al Qasimi says, “The amount will be within what help a brand needs to produce and how mentors feel it is best to inject this. Just giving cash, in the end, doesn’t help creators, they need real support.” Any fashion label that has at least one year’s experience in the industry and has produced two collections can fill out the application form, which will be available from this week on the Qasimi website, and entry closes in early January.
The incubator has been in the works for the last two years. Al Qasimi hopes that labels from the Global South apply as well as those in the United Kingdom and Europe. If labels from outside the United Kingdom apply, the incubator will help them with protocols to establish a base in London.
The first batch of winners is to be announced in March in Sharjah. Qasimi is also setting up a dedicated office in the Emirates, so winners will also have access to this, giving them a base in the lucrative Middle Eastern market. While there are programme in the Arab region that look to shine a spotlight on new talent, such as the Fashion Trust Arabia, she believes this Qasimi Rising will act as a compliment to such initiatives and helps increase the voice of creators from the Global South.
Qasimi’s website will transition to become an e-commerce marketplace for brands that are part of Qasimi Rising. The brand itself will continue showing at London Fashion Week and also collaborating with artists (for their Spring/Summer 2023, the label collaborated with Omani photographer Tariq Al Hajri using his photograph of Dove as print in the collection), but collections will be tighter and focus on the core staples of the fashion label.
“We will accept applications from everyone,” Al Qasimi says, “even if you have been part of another programme. We are looking to create a family of brands that support each other.”
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