Designs made by acid attack survivors from India under the brand Ara Lumiere stood out at the Milan Fashion Week on September 24. Behind the brand is the Hothur Foundation, under the leadership of Kulsum Shadab Wahab. The initiative strives to empower survivors of acid attacks and burns, who hand-craft products for the label. Further, Ara Lumiere also works towards creating sustainable pieces by upcycling, recycling and reusing fabrics, embellishments and jewelled adornments.
The collection showcased at the Milan Fashion Week is called ‘The Unbound’ – representing creative self expression despite trauma and turmoil.
“Diving deep into the lines of their artwork, this collection projects a SURREAL representation of all the cuts and creases of tragic stories working along the torments, struggles faced by the body and mind when trauma dissociates emotion from the body. The bounding and UNBOUNDING in an un-systematic dysmorphia that confines as it weakens the state of emotional life and questions the identity,” the brand said in an Instagram post.
The post further features survivors Maria, Vijaya, Sarojama and Manju, who are modelling the collection featured at Milan Fashion Week.
Through their designs, Ara Lumiere hopes to turn “struggles to triumph”, and highlight the stories of acid attack and burn survivors. Kulsum Shadab Wahab hopes to re-establish these women into society through the collections created by them. The beautiful collection showcased at the Milan Fashion Week certainly spotlights the message the brand hopes to put out there.
