HOLDING GROUND

Ara Lumiere caught the spotlight at Milan Fashion Week for championing the creativity of burn and acid attack survivors. Kulsum Shadab Wahab opens up about charting the course for the brand

- NIDA NAEEM

Maria, a burn survivor, says that as a child, she was never encouraged to follow her artistic pursuits. Rather, she was trained to be a wife – a good wife who, in return, had her world turned upside down due to the attack. Now, as a part of Ara Lumiere, she gets to channel the facets of her inner world into palpable art that lives on clothes.

As brands navigate the social justice landscape, inclusion takes on many shades of meaning. The degree of effort in this direction varies greatly across brands, but the most sincere way forward is to let the marginalised tell their own stories.

The very foundation of Ara Lumiere is built on giving a platform to women who have survived burn and acid attacks and helping them reclaim their narratives. Established by Hothur Foundation, the brand retails handmade apparel crafted by survivors under the mentorship of philanthropist Kulsum Shadab Wahab.