The Spectrum of Resilience

The Spectrum of Resilience
Victory Over Violence · Portrait Milano · September 2024

During Milan Fashion Week in September 2024, Portrait Milano hosted Victory Over Violence, an evening bringing together the Hothur Foundation and the Only The Brave Foundation, in collaboration with Leela, to support women who have survived violence.

For the occasion, Florencia S.M. Brück presented The Spectrum of Resilience, a project developed in collaboration with Dominique Lunetta and Ara Lumiere. The work transforms the voices of survivors of acid attacks into soundwave visualisations, giving tangible form to their words and experiences.

Each wave carries the distinct rhythm of a voice: a personal testimony rendered as a visual trace. The women of Ara Lumiere translated these soundwave prints into scarves, each presented in a box with a card describing the project. Through this exchange between voice, image and textile, their words became objects that could travel beyond the evening and reach new audiences.

Arianna Alessi spoke about the foundations’ work with women who have survived violence, reflecting on the hardships they have endured and the solidarity that supports their recovery. Renzo Rosso emphasised the importance of collective action, while Mr Capasa highlighted fashion’s role in creating opportunities for empowerment.

With heartfelt thanks to the friends, collaborators and supporters who joined us for the evening.

Ara Lumiere

Ara Lumiere was founded by Kulsum Shadab Wahab, its creative director, and brought together under the Hothur Foundation. Working closely with survivors of acid attacks, it accompanies each woman towards healing: through medical aid such as skin banking, usually an extensive course of surgeries in a year, and through mental health aid in a safe environment that helps the women re-establish themselves in society, a process not bound by time.

The women are the heart of the project, a flow of art and fashion that speaks of resilience and strength, working towards their self-sufficiency and livelihood. In an effort towards sustainability and to preserve the handloom treasures of the country, Ara Lumiere recycles, reuses and upcycles embellishments, fabrics and jewelled adornments, giving each material a new life, like the one these women are living.