Ritu Kumar: The Pioneer Of Indian Fashion Industry

India has an ancient clothing design history and is referred to as a prominent and emerging fashion industry. In ancient times who thought that there would be an industry that would produce an annual revenue of $165 billion? A handful of skillful designers existed before the 1980s, and one of them was Ritu Kumar. Ritu Kumar is known as one of the best fashion designers in India.

She is an Indian Fashion Designer who started her career in a small village in Kolkata with her hand block printing techniques on clothes which amazed people. Ritu Kumar started the Era of Fashion Designing with her amazing designs of Lehengas and Bridal Dresses.

Ritu Kumar - Biography

Ritu Kumar - Early and Personal Life
Ritu Kumar - Career
Ritu Kumar - Awards and Achievements

Ritu Kumar - Early and Personal Life

Ritu Kumar was born in Amritsar and shifted to Shimla due to the lack of educational opportunities in Amritsar. She studied at a convent school there and got admitted to the Lady Irwin College of Delhi in the late 1960s as a student of art history.

She met her husband Mr Shashi Kumar at this place and got married the same year. Later she went to pursue a scholarship in Art History at Briarcliff college of New York.

Ritu has two sons Amrish and Ashvinkumar. Amrish works with Ritu and is the CEO of Ritukumar’s fashion brand label Ritu Kumar and Ashvin is a film director who has also been nominated for Oscar.

Ritu started her career and family at a very initial stage of her life and is managing all of it very well. Ritu also pursued museology from a college in Delhi to get more knowledge on ethnic fashion and work.

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Ritu Kumar - Career

Ritu began her journey in the 1960s, while she was studying museology. She visited a small village Serampore in West Bengal. In that village, she found a small colony of hand-block printers who were out of work and needed financial help and employment. That is when the idea came to start a small enterprise of giving designs that the printers began working on.

These hand-block printers created beautiful designer sarees with their outstanding work. She continuously visited exhibitions and fairs to gain popularity and soon she was noticed for her extraordinary designs in India.

She experienced the rapid changes in India, which were replacing handmade textiles with machine-made plastics. Ritu Kumar created new globally relevant designs where the handmade textile legacy would remain the original emphasis.

Initially, she designed evening clothes and Indian bridal wear, and eventually, after the great success of her designs, Ritu opened stores in different states of India. Now she was at boom and everyone knew Ritu Kumar was a brand.

By making an effort, she went international by opening branches in Paris, London, and New York. In 2002 she launched the “Label” brand in partnership with her younger son Amrish Kumar.

Ritu Kumar has 4 brands i.e. “Label” for the modern outfits of girls and women. The second brand under her is “Ri’ which showcases the bridal and lehenga worn by women. The third brand is “Aarke” which is a part of the nightwear section for women. And last but not least “Home” is a brand that sells all the home décor and essential products.

Ritu Kumar is also recognized as her clothes have been worn by famous personalities such as Princess Diana, Priyanka Chopra, Madhuri Dixit Nene, and many more actresses.

The domain ritukumar.com attracted 1,850,126 users in the year 2020. During wedding seasons in India, the company invests in servers as well, to curb excessive website traffic. Digital Impressions has designed and made the website for Ritu.

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Ritu Kumar - Awards and Achievements

There is a long list of awards that Ritu Kumar has achieved during her journey in the fashion industry. The long list flows as:

• Lifetime achievement award by NIFT.
• Lifetime achievement award by Kingfisher Group.
• Outstanding Woman Entrepreneur award by PDHCC.
• The award of “Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres” was given by the French government.
• Lifetime achievement award at Kingfisher Fashion Fantasia (2000)
• Indira Gandhi Priyadarshini Award
• Won the Achievement Award in the year 2012 L’oreal Paris Femina Women’s Awards.
• Padma Shree by the Government of India (2013)

Conclusion

Ritu Kumar one of the leading fashion designers in India, is a role model and inspiration to the youth who want to pursue a career in the fashion industry. She is a successful female entrepreneur and a live example of Indian women who are not dominated by the men in this society.

Ritu Kumar was the first person to introduce the boutique culture in India. Ritu took the chances and performed outstandingly. She is a true example of a pioneer in the fashion industry thus making a remarkable position in the present era.

FAQs

What is Ritu Kumar famous for?

Ritu Kumar is a famous fashion designer in India. She is claimed to be the first designer to introduce boutique culture in India and is one of India's finest fashion designers.

How many stores does Ritu Kumar have?

Ritu Kumar has 93 stores across the country.

How old is Ritu Kumar?

Ritu Kumar was born on 11 November 1944 and is 79 years old.

Who is the brand ambassador of Ritu Kumar?

Shanaya Kapoor is the brand ambassador of Ritu Kumar.

What is the revenue of Ritu Kumar?

The annual revenue of Ritu Kumar was over INR 3 billion for 2023.