March 2nd, 2021

Ibada Wadud is out to do more than just save the environment. Her up-and-coming line of leather handbags employs formerly-incarcerated women and provides them with training in design and leatherwork, creating a direct channel from incarceration to sustainable career paths.

Having spent a decade working at the intersection of fashion, cultural heritage and social justice, she found that the narratives that have come to define American heritage brands, are not inclusive, and rarely depict the stories of people of color. At her company LULAH they are reimagining the classic American heritage brand in the likeness of women of color as they celebrate unsung women like her mother. Women of color being unseen and unheard and underrepresented in American history (though embodying and inspiring the vibrant and triumphant spirit that defines American culture) inspired her to reimagine a heritage brand for the 21st century and discover the LULAH woman.