For the third consecutive year, The Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts has taken its brand narrative well outside the hotel lobby — this time to the runways of Milan Fashion Week, where the luxury hospitality group partnered with Ara Lumière to present PASSPORT, a collaborative fashion and art project anchored in women's empowerment and identity.
The initiative brought The Phoenix Circle, an organization founded by philanthropist and social entrepreneur Kulsum Shadab Wahab, to a global stage alongside contemporary artist Raghava KK. The Phoenix Circle works to empower women survivors of acid and burn attacks, providing opportunities for creative expression, dignity, and livelihood. The PASSPORT collaboration gave those women's voices a platform at one of the world's most-watched fashion events.
Beyond the Hotel Property
For hospitality operators watching how luxury brands build cultural relevance, The Leela's strategy is instructive. Rather than confining its brand identity to room design or F&B programming, the group has invested in multi-year cultural partnerships that travel internationally. Preeti Makhija, General Manager of The Leela Palace New Delhi, framed the approach directly: "Luxury becomes more meaningful when it creates space for purpose, dialogue and impact. Milan Fashion Week offers a global platform to bring together India's rich cultural perspective with voices that are challenging and reshaping the way we understand empowerment."
Kulsum Shadab Wahab, Founder of Ara Lumière and The Phoenix Circle, described the collaboration's core intent: "Fashion gives us a powerful language through which these stories can be seen and heard, and our collaboration with The Leela allows this message to reach a global audience."
India's Luxury Brand on the World Stage
The Milan appearance lands as The Leela marks four decades in operation. The brand — backed by Brookfield and currently operating 15 properties with 10 more in the pipeline across India and Dubai — was ranked #2 globally among hotel brands by the Travel + Leisure World's Best Awards 2026, having previously held the top position in 2020 and 2021. The Leela's outward push through fashion and art aligns with a broader trend among upper-luxury hospitality groups using cultural programming as a competitive differentiator, particularly as global travelers increasingly seek experiences that reflect local identity and social purpose.
For the wider foodservice and hospitality industry, the case raises a practical question: how far can a hotel brand's identity stretch before it dilutes the core guest experience? The Leela appears to be betting that international, purpose-led activations deepen rather than distract from its luxury positioning — and three years of consistent Milan Fashion Week presence suggests the strategy has staying power. Industry observers tracking hospitality brand partnerships and experiential marketing will find The Leela's model a useful reference point as luxury operators search for differentiation beyond physical product.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
