Acid Attack Survivor Will Walk in NYFW

Acid attack survivor Reshma Banoo Qureshi will walk the runway at New York Fashion Week. (Photo: Instagram/Make Love Not Scars)

New York Fashion Week is known for glitzy outfits, stunning beauty looks, and a surplus of celebrity runway models. However, this year, among NYFW veterans, like Gigi Hadid and Kendall Jenner, who will be walking in their share of high-fashion shows, a new face will be added to the runway roster: 19-year-old Reshma Banoo Qureshi.

The runway newbie is a bit different from her model counterparts, with a background most of them certainly can’t relate to. At the age of 17, Qureshi suffered a disfiguring acid attack that resulted in the loss of an eye at the hands of her brother-in-law. Now, two years later, she’s planning her runway debut as a way to raise awareness about banning the unregulated sale of acid in India and around the world.

Qureshi is the face for Make Love Not Scars (MLNS), an organization that helps acid attack victims recover and regain their lives while also attempting to put an end to the sale of acid. She’ll be attending NYFW on behalf of the organization after a well-renowned fashion production company, FTL Moda, contacted the group inquiring about Qureshi.

In a statement written by one of the fashion show’s organizers, Ilaria Niccolini, FTL Moda revealed how ecstatic it is to have Qureshi representing the cause: “We want to give voice to these amazing women, who have been silently suffering, hiding, and too often depriving themselves of the opportunity to declare how beastly and cruelly they have been attacked.”

However, it’s not only the members of MLNS and FTL Moda who are thrilled for Qureshi’s debut but also Qureshi herself, who has never been outside of India. She expressed her enthusiasm in a tearful video posted by MLNS on its Facebook page (you can watch it, below). Good luck to Qureshi on her journey through New York Fashion Week — with such an inspiring story, we can’t help but be excited for her debut.

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