Viva N Diva was founded in the year 2013, by Rupesh Jhawar and Manan Shah to create an innovative Ethnic wear line with clear design aesthetic for the modern women.

The brand was originally dwelled over chai talk with a starting investment of 5000 INR. Driven by the vision of becoming the most admired fashion forward company, the brand inspires the fashion conscious with their distinct style of contemporary designs.

At present, Viva N Diva is recognized as one of the leading fast-fashion Ethnic e- retailers with a strong national following. 

About Face of Courage

Face of courage is an initiative featuring an acid attack survivor as the face of our fashion line i.e. our new kurti collection. The now model Laxmi is a part of the Chaanv Foundation. Laxmi is a very strong lady who has taken this step forward setting an example for all the females who have been stolen of one thing or the other. This campaign is an initiative to change the mind set of general public as to how they perceive beauty in fashion Industry .We believed in the the inner beauty and Laxmi showed the courage. Hence the name - " Face of Courage"

Idea behind Face of Courage initiative

A few months back we sat in our offices and looked at images of a calendar shoot, where a photographer had captured the essence of few acid attack victims and for the first time we saw faces, faces that had no make-up,no lipstick and no eye-liner but lines and patches that tell us their stories in every smile. To the eyes that are used to seeing fashion models with flawless skins dolled up in front of the cameras everyday, this view was both disturbing and inspiring. For a moment we had seen beauty in a very different way and all we thought was to capture it to give it a meaning,to remove any speck of being a victim from those eyes and give them a stage,an employment, a platform a medium to flaunt it with style. We wanted to inspire other entrepreneurs to take up similar initiatives to create a whole new opportunity for these survivors.Hence came in the existence of a new fashion hope " Face of Courage".

Approaching a lead face

We began looking at different Ngo's and means of communication to contact one of the victims, then they stumbled upon the page Stopacidattacks and went through all the great works she had been doing. Instantly they got in touch with her. Laxmi was quite approachable and she is an amazing woman , when we told her about the campaign she was excited and wanted to support the cause

Difficulties they have to face to convert their idea into actual work?

There were not many difficulties, as a team we were all on board and so was Laxmi. Although the shoot location, travelling for Laxmi as she has a young baby were a few problems in the timeline. Other than that we were patient and all eagerly waiting for it to complete successfully. 

Story of Laxmi (lead of this campaign)

She was attacked in 2005 at age of 15, by a 32-year-old man whose advances she had rejected. Her story, among others, was told in a series on acid attack victims by Hindustan Times. She has also advocated against acid attacks through gathering 27,000 signatures for a petition to curb acid sales, and taking that cause to the Indian Supreme Court. Her petition led the Supreme Court to order the central and state governments to regulate the sale of acid, and the Parliament to make prosecutions of acid attacks easier to pursue.

She is the director of Chhanv Foundation, a NGO dedicated to help the survivors of acid attacks in India. Laxmi received a 2014 International Women of Courage award by US First Lady Michelle Obama. She was also chosen as the NDTV Indian of the Year.

Response of public towards this inspiring campaign

We got tremendous response to the campaign, people from across the world have contacted us and appreciated the campaign. A lot of women have come forward with their stories. It was really good to see that people have at least got food for thought, they might not immediately change the perception but yes they have a direction; at least most of them. 

Watch their heart touching video:

Face of Courage : Breaking the barriers of victimism

https://youtu.be/ikuVP8UqkvE

Follow them through:

www.vivandiva.com

Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/vivandivacouture/?pnref=story

Twitter : https://twitter.com/search?q=vivandiva&src=typd&lang=en

Publised On: Mar 30, 2016