Ritu Kumar

Ritu Kumar

PROFILE :

In the late 1960’s India was going through profound changes; plastics had replaced mud, brass and silver; factory produced papers and woods took the place of sophisticated handicrafts and nylons displaced an ancient heritage of cotton and silk. It was not only a battle between tradition and modernity; it was also a confrontation of lifestyles and values. During this time, a small group who had benefited from unique opportunities of study and travel began to see the depth of the craft and design heritage of their own country. They discovered that India was a reservoir of delicate skills. In an attempt to merge their international experiences together with the skills of their people, they became aware that contemporary designers must revitalize their own roots and identity. This was essential to take Indian creativity out into the world in such a way that benefited both craftsmen and the modern consumer. This scattered group, including Ritu Kumar was to become the country’s leading designers of the buildings, garments, fabric and accessories. Ritu began with hand block printers and two tables in a small village near Calcutta, and in the last 28 years, Ritu’s team of dedicated workers have progressed to produce some of the country’s most exquisite garments and accessories in cotton, silk and leather. These ranges embrace both traditional textile crafts and the lineage of Indian design. Over the centuries, traditional skills that had been lost have been revitalized and this has enabled the craftsmen to continue working in their own environment. Ritu has pioneered the term ‘fashion’ in the Indian context, and more importantly, has demonstrated that hand made products can be as profitable and even more glamorous than those made by machine. Ritu Kumar’s forte is traditional Indian clothes, that draw heavily on the textile and embroidery heritage of India and remains classics of their kind. But she evolved another style for European buyer. Her Indo-West fusion wear has all the trappings of block prints, embroidery and craft inputs on a western style.
Ritu has been designing the wardrobes comprising swim-wear, evening wear, traditional Indian wear, casual wear, formal evening gowns; of the winning three Miss India’s, for their participation in the International beauty pageants (Miss Universe, Miss World & Miss Asia pacific respectively).At least six of these, to mention a few; Manpreet Brar, Ruchi Malhotra, Rani Jeyraj and recently Lara Dutta, have won the award for the Most Outstanding Evening Gown in International pageants. Ritu has opened many outlets all over India. Style icons as late Princess Diana have patronized her outfits. Ritu Kumar also launched her book ‘ Costumes and Textiles of Royal India’ which is published by Christie’s, London.

PERSONAL DATA:Born in Amritsar, November 11, 1944Citizenship: INDIAN Married, Two children.Education:Post Graduate Diploma in Museology, 1967, Ashutosh Museum, CalcuttaAssociate in Arts, 1966, Briarcliff College, Westchester County, NY, USABachelor of Education. 1965, Lady Irwin College, New DelhiBachelor of Science in Home Economics, 1964, Lady Irwin College, New DelhiIntermediate in Science, 1960, Government College, AmritsarMatriculation, 1958, Sacred Heart Convent, Amritsar Professional Experience:Designer of Textiles and Garments

R & D in Design:Leather ready-mades and accessories using traditional techniques – The collection “Karabagh” launched in 1994.Development of handloom weaving to suit ready to wear needs, in Maheshwar, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and Tamil Nadu.Revival of tie/dye in selected areas in Gujarat.Revival and change of end use of vegetable printing/painting and dyeing techniques in Andhra Pradesh.Revival and change in end use of the printing techniques of Tanjore.Research into traditional design motifs to translate them from traditional uses to leather and textiles.Development of a specialized printing unit at Balabhgarh employing modern techniques of screen-printing.Continuing work on established lines, producing two collections a year for national retail outlets in: Traditional Zardozi Kashida Handblock prints Ethnic embroideries by machine and hand Kantha
AssociationsMembership of Governing / Executive bodies : All India Handloom Board at the Ministry of Textiles. Delhi Crafts Council, Delhi Chapter Divyachhaya “Save a Child” Trust, Calcutta / Delhi
Board of Governors : National Institute of Fashion Technology.
AwardsLifetime Achievement Award set by NIFTOutstanding Woman Entrepreneur Award by PHDCCLifetime achievement award at the Kingfisher Fashion Fantasia, July 2000 in Bangalore.RITU – A history of company
2002
CHRONOLOGY OF PRESENTATIONS:
Designed wardrobes for the participants of various pageants, with two new contests-- Miss International and Miss Earth added to the growing list of pageants.
Neha Dhupia - participated in the Miss Universe Contest held in Puerto Rico on 29th May 2002.
Shruti Sharma - participated in the Miss World contest held in London on the 30th November 2002.
Tina Chatwal - participated in the Miss Asia Pacific contest held in Manila on the 30th November 2002 and she was the first runner up in the contest.
Gauhar Khan - participated in the Miss International contest in Tokyo on the 04th October 2002.
T. Maheshwari - participated in the Miss Asia Pacific Contest held in Manila, on 10th November 2001.
Sara Conner - participated in the Miss World contest in Johannesburg. on the 24th November 2001.
Kanwal Toor - participated in the Miss International contest in Tokyo on the 04th October 2001.
Shamita Singha - participated in the Miss Earth contest in Manila, which was held on the 20th October. She won the Best National Costume Award wearing one of our lehnga choli.Exhibitions held in three cities, one each in Ahmedabad on September 3rd - 5th in Hyderabad on 11th - 13th October 2001 and in Bangalore on 9th -11th November 2001.
Relocated our premises to a new address in Amritsar, Cross-Mall, 39 HDFC Building, The Mall, Amritsar.
One more retail space opened in Punjab. Ritu’s new showroom opened on the 01st November 2001 at Chandigarh, Shop No. 21, Sector 9D, Chandigarh.
28th October 2001 The "Ritu Kumar" Bridal and Period collection was shown at the The Oberoi Towers, Mumbai on 28th October 2001 at the Regal Room. The show was held in collaboration with the magazine "Marwar" to celebrate its 10th anniversary. The evening was entitled," Soiree Royale". The other highlights of which were the presence of several erstwhile Maharajas and Princes from the royal families of Rajasthan. A sumptious royal cuisine was also painstakingly created by the chefs at the Oberoi hotel.
October 5th 2001Vivah Show - Oberoi Hotel, Mumbai
Opened the fashion sequence of the Vivah Show 2001 organized by Femina held on 05th October in Oberoi Hotel, Mumbai and participated in the Bridal fair held in Bombay.
September 27th 2001Bridal Asia - Taj Mahal Hotel, Delhi
Participated in Bridal Asia 2001 in New Delhi, opening the fashion sequence with a short film which preceded the showing of the new bridal line.
August 2001Lakme India Fashion Week, Taj Mahal Hotel, Mumbai
June 27th 2001Alternatives to Shatoosh, a presentation at Taj Mahal Hotel - Delhi
March 20th 2001In house Bridal Showing - Archana, Delhi
February 12th 2001“Pret to Couture” - National Gallery of Modern Art, Mumbai
A collection of ancient costumes from Ritu Kumar’s archives as well as her latest Bridal Collection and presented at the National Gallery of Modern Art in Mumbai, as “A Retrospective—Prêt to Couture”
The show is like a journey into the past, old style tight kurtas, churidars salwars and Indian melodies from the 60s and 70s providing plenty of nostalgia….
2000...In August 2000, Ritu Kumar first presented her “Prêt to Couture” for summer, along with a collection of woolens, silk and leather garments for winter.“Prêt to Couture” is a collection of casual and formal wear that is both young and elegant. The inspirations for these garments come from basic Indian motifs, prints and embroideries but with the usage of a wide range of western silhouettes mingled with Indian styles.
The show first opened at the Lakme India Fashion Week in New Delhi and was later shown in Kolkata.
CHRONOLOGY OF PRESENTATIONS:
August 23rd 2000Lakme India Fashion Week, New Delhi
September 2000Hotel Taj Bengal, Kolkata
November 2000In House Bridal Showing, Mumbai
May 2000The celebrated audio-visual tableau by Ritu Kumar, “Tree of life” presented as part Of the cultural extravaganza- at the India Trade show in Tel Aviv, Israel in May 2000 and was also hosted at “The Memphis in May festival, 2000” at Memphis, Tennesse USA.
Lara Dutta- Femina Miss India/Universe won the Miss Universe title at the pageant held In Nicosia, Cyprus on 13th May 2000. She also won the ‘Best National Costume’ first Runner - up award in an ornate four-piece ensemble, a traditionally cut-paneled ‘lehenga’, reminiscent of vegetable dyeing and patterning, designed by Ms. Kumar.

On 26th February 2000, the show was taken to ‘The Grand hall’, Hong Kong Convention Center at Hong Kong by the India Trade Promotion Organization.

January 2000The “Tree Of Life” was the highlight of the Grand Finale during the cultural evening Hosted by confederation of Indian Industry at the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum, In Davos, Switzerland held on 28th January, 2000.

1999Collections - By the 90s RITU began to focus input into design and colors, which were adaptable to seasons. Summer and Winter lines were brought out. The salwar kameez lines were expanded and a major thrust was given to the Bridal collection, which till then was limited in colors and patterns. Off whites, gold, turquoise and mehndi greens were introduced to a bride apart from the traditional colors around red. Experiment with mediums like leather, were carried on, resulting in collections like Karabagh in 1994. Traditional skills were adapted into contemporary wear with the East West collection of1996. Overall there were changes in cuts, colors, and prints of all garments.

October 1999Ritu’s “Tree of Life” show was especially invited by the Singapore Indian Fine Arts Society for their 50th year celebrations, on 28th October, 1999. The guest of honour, at these celebrations was the President of Singapore.

BOOKIn 1999, Ritu Kumar released the Costumes and Textiles of Royal India with launches in London and the four main metros in India.

An in-depth account of the royal costumes and textiles of India the book considers all the various stylistic traditions, both religious and regional, arising from within this vast country. Beginning with India’s ancient and medieval history, through the Mughal period and ninety years of British rule, and on into the twentieth century that saw the demise of Princely India and the establishment of a democratic nation, these are fashions that both permeate the culture and reflect it.

The evolution of the tastes and preferences of India’s royalty has been traced through the traditional court clothing that has been researched and documented by the author over two decades. The exquisite costumes and textiles featured in this sumptuous book, which come from all four corners of the subcontinent, are unmatched in their beauty and refinement.

Published by Christie’s Books Ltd, the book has been edited by Cathy Muscat and includes a foreword by Martand Singh, Chairman INTACH (Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage, UK Trust)
1998Won Lifetime Achievement Award set by NIFT
Outstanding Woman Entrepreneur Award by PHDCC.

NovemberRitu’s “Tree of Life” show, now a classic in the Indian design Industry was chosen to represent India at the world Fashion Forum at the NIFT, this year. Performed as the finale to the show, which featured designs from all over, the world, the ‘Tree of Life’ was acknowledged as a fitting tribute to the richness of Indian textile heritage.

SeptemberIn recognition to the contribution to the fashion Industry, and the encouragement of young talent at NIFT, Ritu was appointed on the Board of Governors of the National Institute of Fashion Design.

1997“Tree of life” was presented once again at the Wembly Conference Center on the May 24th, 25th, in London, as a part of the celebration of the 50 years of India’s Independence.

1996May 1996 saw the crystallization of the dream to take Indian creativity and craftsmanship out into the world in the form of Ritu London at North Audley Street. With an art gallery A.R.K.S. in its basement. Ritu London counts amongst its customers, Jemima Khan and the late Princes Diana.

Ritu-London presented a range of India’s highest quality craft skills linking garments, accessories, leathers, furnishings, papers and reeds. Spanning several centuries the designs include woven, printed, embroidered, painted and twisted techniques.

From the workshops of RITU come garments, handbags and furnishings from the Zardozi, Kashida, Tree of life and Karabagh Collections. Also included were her more recent researches into the hinterlands of the country together with the creations of other Indian designers.

1995Mid-SeptemberRitu was invited to provide costumes for the contestants of Miss UK 1995, in a section entitled “Tribute to India”.

End-SeptemberRitu donated and mounted an exhibition of the prints and vegetable dyes of Macchlipatnam, Srikalahasti and Srikenaikempat, villages situated in the Coromandal Coast (now Cholamangalam) which were the manufacturing centers for the world’s most sought after prints and designs of the 17th and 18th century’s. Old prints were sourced at the Victoria and Albert museum and produced in Calcutta with the hand block printing techniques originally used in Macchlipatnam three-century’s ago.

1994In January 1994, Ritu presented KARABAGH, a collection of traditional and modern handbags and coats in leather along with a selection of cushions and quilts in silk.
The experiment combined both traditional and modern techniques with materials accessible to the contemporary designer. Experimenting with a diversity of fabrics, Ritu worked on a uniform theme based on images from Cholamandal coast, Kashmir, Sanganer and Farukkhabad.

In 1994, Ritu clothed the Miss Universe and Miss World winners – Sushmita Sen and Aishwarya Rai, who were able to display the riches of India’s regenerated and evolved textile crafts to the world of television viewers.

1993In March 93, The Tree of Life was presented by the Madras Craft foundation to raise funds for ‘Dakshinachitra, a craft center and working museum demonstrating the traditional skills of the south.

1992On February 10th, 1992, the tableau was presented once again at the crafts Museum in Pragati Maidan, New Delhi. This time by four organizations working together: The National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), The Delhi crafts council, The Handloom and Handicrafts Museum and RITU.
Exhibitions/Promotions in 1992November – A collection odhnis for India through the Veil: An exhibition of odhnis at Commonwealth Institute, London.

JuneA collection of contemporary saris for 101 Saris, a traveling exhibition starting at the Cartright Hall, Bradford, U.K. In association with the Government of India Handicrafts and Handlooms Export Corporation, Gujrat State Handicraft Development Corporation, Orissa Co-operative Handicrafts Corporation, Co-optex and Sewa Lucknow.

1989 - 1991As a celebration of 21 years of RITU, THE TREE OF LIFE audio visual fashion tableau was mounted, it showcased traditional and modern garments linking Indian heritage with contemporary fashion. It was presented by invitation at the craft museum. The tableau was presented in Calcutta to raise funds for Divya Chalavja Trust, and at the Asiatic Society in Mumbai.
Exhibitions/Promotions

March/April 1990 - Established ‘Ritu’ a shop within a shop at the Galleries La Fayette, Paris, Promotion of India.

Zardozi Exhibition - Festival of India in USA, Philadelphia Museum.

November 1989 – Participated in the Hongkong Asia Trust presentation on Traditions and Adaptations in Textiles and Fashion from Hong Kong, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

1988In 1988, Ritu mixed embroidery and handblock printing to create the KASHIDA

COLLECTION. The geometric phulkari’s of Punjab, the mirror work of Kutch, the stylized plant and floral motifs of the Kashmir, the white of the Chikan and the Kantha work of Bengal were blended with hand block prints to create garments of refinement and texture reflecting the very essence of Indian aesthetics. One of Ritu’s craftsmen earned the President’s Award for excellence in craft.

1985The ZARDOZI COLLECTION of traditional wedding and evening wear was exhibited at the Lalit Kala Academy in New Delhi, the Jahangir art gallery in Mumbai, the Birla Academy of art and culture in Calcutta and at the festival of India in the USA. Ritu’s boutique was by this time renamed simply – RITU.
1975This is the time when the company Kalamkari Designs Pvt. Ltd. was started jointly with her husband. A craft oriented export house was soon selling silk dresses under the label "Ritu Kumar for Monsoon" London.

"Ritu Kumar for Judith Ann," New York,. Sanoba Moden in Germany, Roshafi in Amsterdam and Trade Action in Australia. Franchises were also started with Harrods London, Liberty, London for brief periods. It was a time for experimentation and exploration, and Ritu began to be well known for her print designs. The role has not changed since then. The export of garments continues till the present day and the company has expanded its collections substantially and is now based in New Delhi.
1974Monday 18th March 1974: RITU'S BOUTIQUE opens in Bombay at Akash Ganga, 89 Bhulabhai Desai Road (Warden Road) Bombay-26

1973In the early 70’s, Ritu discovered the embroiders of Ranihati, settlements based outside Calcutta and provided them with a workspace in their own environment. Gradually the crafts of Zardozi, that had once flourished in the great workshops of the Mughal emperors, were revived to produce marriage garments and evening wear of great beauty. In contemporising these skills, Ritu evolved a unique blend of pattern, fabric and gold embroidery.

1972Saturday April 8th 1972: Fashion Parade by RITU'S BOUTIQUE at the Tollygunge Club, Calcutta.

1970Monday 9th of March 1970 - Exhibition-cum-sale of hand printed saris, Broad borders and huge pallavs revived the art of resist printing. Paisley. Little daisy like flowers, squares and circles, traditional and modern motifs, were mixed and matched.

January 25th 1970 - Ritu’s Boutique celebrated two years of its existence on with a fashion show which was called "The Fashion Mood of the Seventies" It was a very early attempt at bringing some professionalism onto the ramp. There were 40 outfits shown in total. 1968 Opening of Ritu’s boutique in Calcutta at 46 a-b Wellesley Street Calcutta- 700016. Ritu first regarded the boutique phenomena a fun thing. A mere giggle. Success changed all that and she became thoroughly and totally involved with her work. She was quite elated at the marvelous response Calcutta gave RITU'S BOUTIQUE and naturally had bigger, brighter plans for the future….

1966Ritu’s first Boutique opened in Delhi at D3 Defence Colony Link Road, New Delhi. This was the first ever boutique in Delhi.