Ritu Kumar is an Indian

fashion design Fashion design is the art of applying design, aesthetics, clothing construction, and natural beauty to clothing and its accessories. It is influenced by diverse cultures and different trends and has varied over time and place. "A fashion design ...

er.

Early life and education

The lack of educational opportunities in

Amritsar Amritsar, also known as Ambarsar, is the second-List of cities in Punjab, India by population, largest city in the India, Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab, after Ludhiana. Located in the Majha region, it is a major cultural, transportatio ...

led her to move to

Simla Shimla, also known as Simla (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Himachal Pradesh, the official name until 1972), is the capital and the largest city of the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. In 1864, Shimla was declared the summe ...

for her schooling, where she attended Loreto Convent. She later studied at

Lady Irwin College Lady Irwin College is a constituent college of the University of Delhi located on the North Campus. Established in 1932, it is a women's college located in New Delhi, India, and offers graduate courses in Home Science and Food Technology as ...

, where she met and married Shashi Kumar, and then went on to accept a scholarship at

Briarcliff College Briarcliff College was a women's college in Briarcliff Manor, New York. The school was founded as Mrs. Dow's School for Girls in 1903 at the Briarcliff Lodge. After Walter W. Law donated land and a building for the college, it operated at ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, where she studied Art History. On returning to

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, she studied

museology Museology (also called museum studies or museum science) is the study of museums. It explores the history of museums and their role in society, as well as the activities they engage in, including curating, preservation, public programming, and ed ...

at the Asutosh Museum of Indian Art, part of the

University of Calcutta The University of Calcutta, informally known as Calcutta University (), is a Public university, public State university (India), state university located in Kolkata, Calcutta (Kolkata), West Bengal, India. It has 151 affiliated undergraduate c ...

. Her son is

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People and fictional and mythical characters * Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar * Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...

nominated director,

Ashvin Kumar Ashvin Kumar is an Indian filmmaker. He wrote, directed and produced India's only Oscar-nominated short film, '' Little Terrorist'' (2004), with his debut film ''Road to Ladakh'' being released in the same year. He also made the feature-lengt ...

Career

Kumar began her fashion business in Kolkata, using two small tables and hand-block printing techniques. Beginning with bridal wear and evening clothes in the 1960s and 70s, she eventually moved into the international market in the subsequent two decades. As well as shops in India, Kumar's company has also opened branches in Paris, London and New York. The London branch closed after three years, in 1999. Her company's annual turnover at the time was the highest of any Indian fashion outlet, estimated at around ₹10 billion. In 2002 she launched the "Label" line in partnership with her son Amrish. Kumar discusses her career at length in a recent interview for the Creating Emerging Markets project at the

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...

, beginning with how she first broke into the Paris and New York fashion houses and department stores in the 1970s.

Designs

Kumar's designs focus on natural fabrics and traditional printing and weaving techniques. She has also included Western elements in her work, but has generally not innovated beyond traditional

sari A sari (also called sharee, saree or sadi)The name of the garment in various regional languages include: * * * * * * * * * * * * * * is a drape (cloth) and a women's garment in the Indian subcontinent. It consists of an un-sti ...

designs. Her clothes have been worn by celebrities such as

Princess Diana Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997), was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William ...

Priyanka Chopra Priyanka Chopra Jonas (; born 18 July 1982) is an Indian actress and producer. The winner of the Miss World 2000 pageant, Chopra is India's highest-paid actress and has received numerous accolades, including two National Film Awards and fiv ...

Lara Dutta Lara Dutta Bhupathi ( Dutta; born 16 April 1978) is an Indian actress. She won the Miss Universe 2000, and has since predominantly worked in Hindi films and series. Dutta is a recipient of a Filmfare Awards, Filmfare Award and established hers ...

Deepika Padukone Deepika Padukone (; born 5 January 1986) is an Indian actress who works predominantly in Hindi films. She is India's highest-paid actress, as of 2023, and List of awards and nominations received by Deepika Padukone, her accolades include thre ...

, Madhuri Dixit Nene,

Madhur Jaffrey Madhur Jaffrey Order of the British Empire, CBE (née Bahadur; born 13 August 1933) is an Indian-born British-American actress, cookbook and travel writer, and television personality. She is recognized for bringing Indian cuisine to the weste ...

Kalki Koechlin Kalki Koechlin (; born 10 January 1984) is a French actress and writer who works in films and stage. Known for her unconventional body of work, particularly in Hindi films, she is the recipient of several accolades, including a National Film ...

Dia Mirza Dia Mirza Rekhi (born Dia Handrich; 9 December 1981) is an Indian actress who primarily works in Hindi films. She won the title of Miss Asia Pacific International in 2000 after being crowned Femina Miss India Asia Pacific 2000. Mirza made her ...

Soha Ali Khan Soha Ali Khan Pataudi (born 4 October 1978) is an Indian actress who has worked in Hindi, Bengali, and English films. She is the younger daughter of veteran actress Sharmila Tagore and former India cricket captain Mansoor Ali Khan, of Bhopal, ...

and

Jemima Goldsmith Jemima Marcelle Goldsmith (born 30 January 1974), known professionally as Jemima Khan, is an English television and film producer and screenwriter. She is the founder of Instinct Productions, a television production company. Previously she was ...

Website

The domain ritukumar.com attracted 1,658,109 users in the year 2019. The company has also invested on server to handle excessive traffic during wedding seasons in India. The website of Ritu Kumar is designed by Digital Impressions.

Awards and recognition

In 2013 Ritu Kumar was given the

Padma Shri The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. In ...

award by the Government of India. She won the Achievement Award in 2012 at L’oreal Paris Femina Women’s Awards.

References

External links

Official Website

Ritu Kumar Label Official

Ritu Kumar other Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kumar, Ritu Indian women fashion designers Indian fashion designers Living people Recipients of the Padma Shri in other fields Artists from Amritsar 21st-century Indian designers Women artists from Punjab, India Year of birth missing (living people) Lady Irwin College alumni