Born in Amritsar 1944 and brought up in Delhi, Ritu Kumar is a name that does not need any introduction in the fashion industry. With labels like, 'Ritu Kumar', 'Ri', 'Ritu Kumar Home', and 'LABEL Ritu Kumar, she is quite a known name in the industry. She is credited for starting boutique culture in India and making it popular.
Ritu Kumar finished her schooling from Loreto Convent in Shimla, studied in the Lady Irwin College of the University of Delhi, and studied Art History at Briarcliff College in New York. She also studied Museology at Asutosh Museum of Indian Art at the University of Calcutta.
Her studies in art history and museology inspired her for the field of clothing designs and ensembles. She prefers to work with fabrics like silk, cotton, and leather. Ritu Kumar’s outfits are stunning in their richness, elegance, and intricacy of embroidery. Her clothes actively reflect the rich embroidery heritage of India, whether in their motifs, type of stitching, or the elements used in the embroidery.
Known as a revivalist in the fashion scenario, bridging the gap between conservative and conventional styles, she started her journey with two small tables and hand block printing techniques in 1969. Initially, she was designing bridal attires and evening wear. She excels in contemporary and classic styles. Her business has also evolved an Indo-Western fusion to attract European buyers.
She runs a campaign named ‘Beautiful Hands’ that encourages the purchase of garments and accessories that showcase ethnic Indian styles of embroidery. To empower this campaign, she has started a line of clothing known as ‘The Revivalist’. The idea of this clothing line is to resurrect traditional Indian crafts and integrate them into mainstream fashion. The first two craft forms that have been taken up by Ms. Kumar in association with grassroots social enterprises are the Kutch and Shibori forms of embroidery.
Her success in the boutique culture in India, motivated her to make her boutique go international. She started her shops in London, Paris, and New York. Though the London branch was closed in 1999. By the end of the 90s, Ms. Kumar’s outlet had the highest turnover of Rs 10 billion, which was among the Indian fashion outlets.
She has designed the costumes of the film “No Fathers in Kashmir.” Her brand is the most respected in India and she owns 35 high-end stores in India in 14 cities and she continues to expand her business around the world as well. Her designs were worn by various Indian and International celebrities such as Princess Diana, Priyanka Chopra, Lara Dutta, Deepika Padukone, Madhuri Dixit Nene, Madhur Jaffrey, Kalki Koechlin, Dia Mirza, Soha Ali Khan, and Jemima Goldsmith. The dress Kareena Kapoor wore for her wedding was designed by Ms. Kumar.
Ms. Kumar received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Institute of Fashion Technology in 1998. The same year she also received the Outstanding Women Entrepreneur Award from the Ph.D. Chamber of Commerce. In 2000 Kingfisher group of industries awarded her with a Lifetime Achievement Award. The government of India awarded her with the Padma Shree award in 2013. She has written a book named “Costumes and Textiles of Royal India” that was published in 1999.
