Ritu Kumar: A Fashion Mentor

She was the first woman to bring the boutique culture to India, under the name ‘Ritu’. Even though ethnic attires were her specialty, Ritu Kumar’s designs changed with the changing fashion scenario. Kumar is known to be a revivalist in the fashion scenario, bridging the gap between conservative and conventional styles. 

Starting on a small scale, Ritu Kumar has diversified her works of art globally and has been the mentor of fashion in India. She excels in contemporary and classic styles, but has also evolved an Indo-Western fusion to attract European buyers. Some of her global achievements include the wardrobes of international beauty pageants like Miss India, Miss Universe, Miss World and Miss Asia Pacific. 

Ritu Kumar has frequently won the award for the Most Outstanding Evening Gown in international pageants. She was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the National Institute of Fashion Technology in 1998. That year she also received the Outstanding Women Entrepreneur Award from the PHD Chamber of Commerce. In 2000 Kumar got the Kingfisher group of industries’ Lifetime Achievement Award. “Women in India are influencing fashion, making the craft sectors inclusive in their work,” says Kumar “This is a first for women in this field and it will benefit the Indian textile in a big way,” she goes on to say, adding, “My congratulations to BW Businessworld for acknowledging influential women leaders of today.” 

Ritu Kumar was born in Amritsar in 1944. She was educated at Loreto Convent, Shimla and Lady Irwin College, where she met and married Shashi Kumar. She then got a scholarship to Briar Cliff College in New York, where she studied art history. Back in India, she studied museology at the Asutosh Museum of Indian Art of the University of Calcutta.  

Ritu Kumar has the largest and most respected designer-wear brand in India today. Since 1969 she has developed a unique style of her own, reflecting the ancient traditions of Indian craftsmanship in a contemporary style. She began by designing bridal wear and evening clothes in the 1960s and 1970s and moved to the international market in the decades that followed. Apart from shops in India, Kumar’s company opened branches in Paris, London and New York. By the end of the 1990s the turnover of her stores was the highest among Indian fashion outlets. 

In 2013 she was awarded the Padma Shri. Her clothes have been worn by celebrities around the world and film stars in India. The group runs two kinds of stores, one  with the Ritu Kumar Label with brands designed exclusively by her and the Ritu Kumar Stores, which sell a combination of all brands in a single store. 

Ritu Kumar has the largest and most respected designer-wear brand in India today. Since 1969 she has developed a unique style, combining Indian craftsmanship with contemporary styles