Meet Kulsum Shadab Wahab, member of RR Circle 2026–2027

A hospital visit for a child’s surgery brought Kulsum Shadab Wahab face to face with her first acid-attack survivor. That defining encounter would lead to Ara Lumiere, a fashion and social impact brand founded on the work by acid-attack and burn survivors. Today, the couture label empowers over 100 survivors of gender-based violence. Ara Pret was founded seven years later, in 2025. Designs by the ready-to-wear label have been worn by pop singer Katy Perry, recognised by Gucci’s Chime for Change campaign, and led to a collaboration with actor Shah Rukh Khan’s Meer Foundation to create awareness around skin donation. When a name such as Katy Perry’s is associated with the label, “the objective is never celebrity for its own sake. It is to create conversation.” Craft restores something money alone cannot, believes Wahab. “The act of creating something beautiful with their hands allows them to rediscover confidence, purpose, and self-worth,” she explains, adding, “The [mindset] gradually shifts from ‘look at what happened to me’ to ‘look at what I created.’” 

This year, Wahab became the first Indian to be named Women’s Empowerment Ambassador for Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana, Italy’s National Chamber for Fashion. Speaking about the honour, the philanthropist who spent years working with children with disabilities through her family’s Hothur Foundation, and has a Master’s in Psychology, is characteristically self effacing. “It belongs to every woman who refuses to let violence define the rest of her life,” she says. “For the women of Ara, this recognition is a reminder that the world sees them not through the lens of their trauma, but through their talent, resilience, and artistry.” On India’s place in the world, she is clear: “We need to present our identity with confidence, authenticity, and uncompromising excellence,” she says, quoting a line she returns to often: “Purpose opens the door but excellence keeps it open.”