Godmother of Indian Fashion
By Saloni Kaul

IT was a fashion show with a difference. Instead of an exhibition of high voltage glitter and special effects associated with routine ramp shows, Ritu Kumar invited a few friends to the boutique of a Bombay hotel and unveiled her latest collection with just four models for assistance.

After the show, invitees were asked to step forward and inspect the garments personally. "This way you can see and examine the clothes at a closer range than from the ramp," explained the designer, better known as ‘godmother’ of the Indian fashion industry.

The low-key exposition typifies Ritu’s penchant for the subdued and minimal look in her designs. Even for her bridal wear range, she manages to steer clear of all ornamentation and achieves a level of sophistication by sheer understatement, which has become her trademark.

There are no heavily embroidered silk lehnga-cholis and ostentatious salwar-kameez ensembles in Ritu’s scheme of things. Her collections include ankle-length skirts and tunics, pre-stitched sarees and long sleeved blouses, jackets and gossamer thin net chunnis in shades of green, peach and deep maroons.

"I wore her clothes on my wedding day 10 years ago and I still come to her because she can be never loud," says an admirer of Ritu Kumar who finds a certain ‘timelessness’ in her styles. "You cannot go out of fashion in her clothes."

Ritu has an amusing story to narrate about how she got into designing clothes. That was in 1966 (when there was no fashion industry in India), the year she was married. Sarees were then regarded as the only appropriate garment for bridal wear.

"I searched all over the markets, but could not find even a remotely suitable wedding saree," she recalls. "In desperation, I took my bandhini (tie-’n’-dye) saree from Rajasthan to my tailor and got some zardozi embroidery done all over."

It was no doubt a hit, but Ritu would "not dare do any such thing today" as much has changed now. Designers are offering multiple options, while people are willing to experiment with their sartorial tastes.

In this competitive scenario, Ritu has been able to carve a niche for herself by virtue of her knowledge of traditional Indian weaves and craft traditions. She does not need to resort to crystals and sequins for a dash of glitter and shine, and instead works on dabka, aari, gota and other such embellishments.

While drawing upon these age-old embroidery forms, she has not only been able put a distinctive stamp of classicism in all her creations, but has also managed to evolve as a designer in the process. She has made some breathtaking designs and in many ways, become a source of inspiration for other designers.

One recent innovation was the stunning "Ganga-Jamuna effect" she created by combining gold and silver threads in embroidery. "It was not easy for my artisans to adapt to this," she says, "their forefathers had stopped working with gold thread on textile when the British imposed gold tax in the 18th century."

Ever ready to explain the intricacies behind every design, pattern and weave of the fabric she uses, Ritu points out that there are no short-cuts to quality as clients have got increasingly "textile savvy". Her personal favourites are, however, cottons in basic earth colours — particularly ecru and khaki.

She loves block prints also and holds an enviable collection of traditional patterns and motifs from different parts of the country since pre-historic times. At one time she had set up a small block-printing unit with two tables in a small village near Calcutta.

At times she borrows patterns from her block-print collection and translates them into embroidery, be it zardozi, kashida or kantha. "Don’t forget India has taught the basics of geometric patterns in textiles to the world," she points out.

Having dressed the likes of Princess Diana and even as she runs a lucrative sales outlet in London, Ritu is yet to figure out what the average western perception is about Indian clothes: "They keep asking me what kind of costume is a salwar-kameez... But I don’t complain, since they buy my scarves a lot."

For Indians though, she is clear about what is expected of her. "I do not design for a size 6." she says. "You have to accept the fact that Indian women have larger hips, we do become larger after childbirth, so our clothes have to be designed accordingly."