Ritu Kumar is an Indian fashion designer.

Early life and education

The lack of educational opportunities in

Amritsar Amritsar (), historically also known as Rāmdāspur and colloquially as ''Ambarsar'', is the second largest city in the Indian state of Punjab, after Ludhiana. It is a major cultural, transportation and economic centre, located in the Majha r ...

led her to move to Simla for her schooling, where she attended Loreto Convent. She later studied at Lady Irwin College, 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 i ...

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

, where she studied Art History. On returning to India, she studied

museology Museology or museum studies 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 education. Terminology The w ...

at the

Asutosh Museum of Indian Art Asutosh Museum of Indian Art is an art museum located in the main campus of University of Calcutta on College Street, Kolkata (previously Calcutta), India. Established in 1937, it is the first public museum in any University in India. The univers ...

, part of the University of Calcutta. Her son is Oscar nominated director, Ashvin Kumar.

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 business school of Harvard University, a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is consistently ranked among the top business schools in the world and offers a large full-time MBA 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 designs. Her clothes have been worn by 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.

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 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 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)