Before the path breakers, came the path makers. Indian fashion is presently perched on the precipice of change, about to let go of dated conventions and take a nosedive into neo-heritage. Cutting edge tradition – our ace in the global arena. But what, or who defined the contemporary ‘Indian’ in fashion? Turn back time by four decades and one name instantly flashes to mind. Tsarina of couture, empress of embroideries, grand dame of grandeur – she has received many such titles in her long tenure. Ritu Kumar embodies them all.

In the culturally dynamic 1960s, a young graduate from Lady Irwin College, Delhi, received a scholarship to study history of western art in the USA. “The experience was to influence the rest of my working life,” says Kumar. “During my college days, I remember being passionately nationalistic. This was largely due to the insecurity that the affluent West generates. The result was that I became interested in all things Indian.”

Following marriage, Kumar relocated to Kolkata, and enrolled for a course on museology at the Ashutosh Museum. Field visits to remote villages required close encounters with weavers, craftsmen and tailors and exposed her to the rich mix of local arts and British influences. Kumar’s creative streak revved up with inspirational fuel and soon she started experimenting with textiles. “I had built up a stock…and did not have a clue as to how to market these designs,” she tells us. “Unlike today, few actually believed that anything ready-made would sell, as the neighbourhood tailor was so accessible.” True, until about even a decade ago, ethnic clothing was largely customised locally; ready garments were synonymous exclusively with western-wear.

“An aunt of mine, who lived in Delhi, was planning to start a florist shop,” Kumar narrates. “We decided to venture forth (and) sell some ready-mades, craft items and flowers.” And that is how Ritu’s Boutique was born. “Not everyone understood the name or what it meant and the shop was called?various things, ‘Bow-tiqueee’, ‘Botiq’, ‘Botiikk,” she smiles.

Whatever the pronunciation, the boutique proved to be popular, paving the way for a second store, this time in Kolkata. “Kolkata was a swinging, cosmopolitan city then,” she fondly recalls. “We held fashion shows at coffee mornings at Trinca’s on the famous Park Street.” The varied dress codes oscillated from “truly Brit?to semi babu, semi Brit to bhadrolok (gentleman).” For ladies, there were frocks “of dubious style, a cross between Bollywood…and the legacy left with the tailors of Metiabruz by the British memsahibs. Kolkata dressed in anything and everything!”

Kumar’s contribution to this mad-mash came in the form of exhibitions and shows, featuring kurtas with zips and leather trims, entitled The Zing of Leather, The Fling of Feathers and other such genius nomenclature. But customers and the press welcomed the designs warmly. The shows were “a very early attempt at bringing some professionalism onto the ramp,” Kumar says. Shortly, another store in Juhu, Mumbai, opened its doors. This heralded a new chapter in Kumar’s design ideology. In addition to the slightly androgynous, ‘Twiggy type’ clothing showcased earlier, there was a greater leaning toward ‘indigenous’ design, with ‘redefinition of print and pattern’ (earlier prototypes of Kumar’s distinctive motifs); more ‘Indian’, having saris within the collection.

Kumar attempted to take Indian design to foreign shores in the '70s, but the situation was not very encouraging, as Europe “was too structured in their dress code”. Back home, however, the country was undergoing a nationalist revolution and suddenly, craft was the new big trend. Contrasting the Euro-style floral chiffons that had for long been in vogue, Kumar presented a range of hand-printed desi saris which did not popularise initially, but soon caught on; so much so, that the threat of plagiarism loomed large and had to be countered.

Since then, there has been no looking back. Kumar’s unabashed Indian ethos has been a staple of the nation’s fashion. Over decades, a distinctive presentation of craft has been the ace of her branding strategy – ‘the Ritu Kumar style’ of identity. Zardozi, kashidakari and bandhej have found their way into mainstream design – not only in ethnic-wear, but trendy prêt as well. Heritage craft was no longer the ‘arty-farty old people’s domain’ exclusively; younger people accepted and coveted the attractive mix of tradition and modernity, cleverly packaged by Kumar. Nationally, she evolved into a fashion empire and has since maintained her position as one of India’s industry leaders.

In the 1990s, Indian beauties suddenly took over the world, winning crowns at all the prestigious international pageants. Kumar gained global recognition when she dressed many a winning face, including Sushmita Sen, Aishwarya Rai, Diana Hayden, Lara Dutta and Priyanka Chopra. She continues to dress the Miss Indias to the present day. Many ‘Best National Costume’ awards at these pageants have fallen in her kitty and the achievements have brought her a bevy of noted clientele over the years, like the late Princess Diana and Jemima Khan, among others.

Kumar’s passion for heritage led her to author a book, a chronicle of national textiles, with historic references going back to Mohenjo Daro, entitled Costumes and Textiles of Royal India and released by Christie’s in 1999. A comprehensive compilation, the book has achieved the status of being a design reference for many in the Indian fashion and textile industry. ‘As most of the modern world seems to be severing its links with the natural and organic processes of textile production, the Indian subcontinent still retains a hold on many of its ancient clothing traditions’, Kumar writes in her book. ‘At this juncture, documenting the legacy of textiles and costumes of an older order is like driving a stake into the flux of time to create a point of reference, as we drift further away from a world of hand-crafted creativity.’

Ritu Kumar began with ready-mades, elevated to high design and then branched back to prêt, with Label in 2002. Now headed by her son Amrish, the sub-brand, Label, (sibling of the main Ritu Kumar line) caters to a younger client, with competitive price points, a comfort-trend blend and a touch of craft. This was one of the first designer prêt labels in the country, proving beyond doubt that Kumar’s business acumen, pioneering vision, heritage passion and futuristic bent have not dulled over the years.

The brand of Ritu Kumar could very well be India’s first (and so far, only) fashion house that has transcended a generation. By diversifying the product range – couture, diffusion, prêt and leather goods – Kumar has extended her presence, successfully treading exclusive, niche and mass with equal élan. Is this our Chanel, finally? The baton has been passed, but we cannot say that the legacy has. The legacy is still forming, because given Kumar’s track record, the old saying rings true – ‘Life begins at 40!’

Textures of BALANCE

Ritu Kumar looks back, and ahead, in a conversation with PARMESH SHAHANI

Wow, 40 years...what a journey! Tell me about the early days.
The whole atmosphere around the time that I started was of revival; it was the first generation post freedom. What was considered the thing to do at that time, what you might call cool today, was not to go for labels from anywhere else but to create things from within the country. What led this mood was Indira Gandhi’s attitude to culture. Pupul Jayakar was also instrumental, as was another lady, Swatantrata Prakash. All of us were inspired by a sense of individuality, of getting back to our roots. When collections were shown, it was held in the home, at exhibitions or in museums. My first exhibition of saris was mounted at the Lalit Kala Academi. At that time, there were no ramps, no shops, no malls.
We were researching all the time...people like Martand Singh. I personally visited a lot of museums in Europe researching Indian fabrics. India was a big fabric trading country historically and Indian fabrics were so unusual and appreciated in other countries. A hundred-and-twenty years of colonisation had killed a lot of the heritage and I couldn’t find certain fabrics in India, so I had to go to Europe to look for them. It was a very inspiring time.

You seem wistful. Do you regret going commercial subsequently?
If I hadn’t gone commercial with the work I discovered, it would have been relegated to the museum and I found no point in that. I thought that the areas that we discovered needed to become financially sound, which is what they were at one point. All our work also became a catalyst for a huge amount of employment, which I am very happy for. Zardosi work for example. When we began there was no work for the craftspeople. Today, even if they may not be doing zardosi, they are doing crystals, sequins or whatever but they have more work than they can handle. Today’s designers are using the work done by me and others, and utilising the same skills of the craftspeople and taking it to the next level.

How did you balance your research with business?
It has also been an amazingly complicated balancing act on different levels. Balancing time between family and work is one part of this. But in terms of my work too, balancing between what one wants to do and what the market needs, between where your personal instinct tells you to go and other voices that tell you that this is not going to happen and how you reconcile these. I may have been more interested in creating costumes but people wanted to wear T-shirts, which is why we started the Label line.
Right from the beginning, I always wanted to do prêt. I did do customised wardrobes for friends’ daughters or because I wanted to do it, but I couldn’t ever see myself just doing that. I wanted my collections to go to a much wider audience. So delegation came very early into my life, and along with this, came the processes of manufacturing and distribution, which I was clear that I didn’t want to do, so it was run by professionals. My husband was very experienced with this as well. Both of us were into exports from the 1970s and there was an understanding of how business works internationally.

I believe there are four people widely considered giants of Indian fashion – Rohit Bal, JJ Vallaya, Tarun Tahiliani and you, and you’re the only woman in the group....
The fact that I’m the only woman in this group is only incidental. The entire process of craft revival had both men and women. Every designer wants to create a one of a kind piece, but along with that, I also had an understanding of the commercial side of the business, perhaps being a woman was helpful in this. I could actually relate to the person I was creating for. When I was in my 20s I related to her and did a line which could perhaps have been done for Twiggy. As I grew older, got married and had kids, I could relate to what a woman went through in terms of her need for fashion. As a woman – as you go through life, your size grows from size 6 to 16 many times and this doesn’t mean that you have become non fashionable. I believed in the classical look and that we had the sophistication and the textile depth in the country to always do classical textiles but this had to be taken a step forward to classical fashion, which is perhaps where I worked very hard at getting to.

Some people fault your collections for their simplicity. They say that Ritu Kumar is beautiful, but similar.
You know, timelessness is a very difficult thing to achieve. You can’t be everything to everyone. You have to know where you are and who you are. We have been very clear where our strengths are and not got carried away by immediate fashion or hype. I can understand that some people will find this repetitive, but if you look at any designer, anywhere in the world, a Galliano suddenly doesn’t become a Chanel, he has an energy which is him.

I want to talk about the issue of authenticity. At the Jaipur Mantles of Myth conference, there was a debate about taking crafts and textiles out of their context in modern times....
Indian textiles were always trade textiles. Unless they were for worship of gods and goddesses and adorned shrines and a lot of those too were means to tell stories. Whether it was for the Iranian market or chintzes produced for the British, India has always customised to the need of the trade. So if today the need of the trade is that younger people are wearing jerseys and T-shirts, I see no issue whatsoever. Whether you wear it as a sari or make it into a top or T- shirt and wear it with jeans, it is immaterial. You are doing a traded textile work because of your expertise in textiles, which we have. Madras checks were actually meant for mundus, but the biggest hits in the west were Madras check shirts. It almost became American. Indigo jeans originated from indigo dye in India. Where do you stop transition? The more innovative you are with your textiles, the more they will remain contemporary and not be put away into a box.

There’s been some in-house delegation recently, with the Label baton being handed over to Amrish.
Label is now completely Amrish’s baby in terms of where it is heading and the age group it is targeting. He is very involved with the corporate side as well as the design side of the business. Some of the inputs do come from me, whether in terms of textile inputs or embroidery. He first spent two years interning with us after leaving his previous job five years ago and then went off to do his MBA. After coming back, it has been a slow and steady process of understanding the business and collaborating on what the end product will look like.
With Label we’re moving towards being international and professional. In the future, there will not be Indian lines and western lines; there will be international lines. Amrish has put the company in that direction. The perfume was Amrish’s dream child. He wants to get into products with indigenous roots but international appeal. So the perfume was made in France under his supervision. It is a combination of Indian and international talent coming together and that is the way forward, I think.

Is there a conflict between your and Amrish’s views on the collection or brand at large?
There’s never a conflict but we are always arguing, and I think that’s what produces a good collection. One never interferes with the design process. He wants to grow the brand in a particular direction, so he is probably looking at sunglasses or cosmetics while I may be interested in adding home furnishings, but that is where the diversity comes in.

Will you be handing over the reins for your couture line as well?
Couture is something that I will keep on doing. Couture can be classical couture as well as young couture. Our last couture line had trench coats; it was very young, but still couture in terms of the concept and price. There is a space for Indian couture to go beyond bridal and that’s a space I see myself moving towards.

What do you think of the younger generation of designers? Are any of them competition?
It would be too inward thinking to think of other designers as competition, even though competition is a very healthy thing. The larger problem in India is that there is no support from industry or government for local designers. Where our problem is going to be, and I see it looming large in terms of competition, is with regard to foreign brands coming in, with deep pockets.
Among other designers, I like Sabyasachi very much. In fact, he got the award from me for best design related to crafts in his final year in Calcutta and I have followed his work since he was a student. I like Anamika and Meera and Muzaffar’s work immensely, what they do from Lucknow and that area. I love Rajesh Pratap’s work. There are a lot of young people who are coming in and work with drape rather than ornamentation, like Gaurav Gupta and I really enjoy seeing them. It is wonderful to have this energy that is coming out of the country.

The Miss India pageants have, more than anything else, made you a household name because of all the media exposure.
I found that because Miss India was talking to the younger generation and because it was media friendly, it had a huge impact. All the girls became great ambassadors for indigenous textiles and crafts. We began in 1994 and if you take three to five contestants every year, it makes it about 60 contestants we’ve dressed so far.
I did Aishwarya and Sushmita before they went to Miss World and Miss Universe. And thereafter there have been quite a few winners, so many who have gone on to the movie world, so many in the communication field. They have all been given an introduction to what my work is all about. They all understand what they are wearing, the background, the embroidery, the history. Sushmita in particular had to appear in Egypt and so many countries as India’s brand ambassador, and every time she wore something, she was conversant about it, so it could be a conversation piece.

What are your future plans?
I want to write one more book and I would like to do home furnishings and jewellery. I have been so tied up doing collections all these years, now that Amrish is working on the Label line, I should have time to go back and perhaps script another film like the Tree of Life. It is great fun to put together but like my book, which took six years, it needs time to take off the collection calendar. I am on the academic affairs committee of NIFT and we are looking at their curriculum and at expanding the faculty and maybe move it towards having a PhD program and also working on more technological areas. I am helping the French government to set up an interaction with the fashion industry in India. I am working with Ruda a Rajasthani non-agrarian development organisation that focuses on the crafts. I am really looking forward to going back to research.

When you look back at the past 40 years, do you have any regrets or is there anything you might have done differently?
Well, I wish I could have spent twice the amount of time I did with the children at the time I was working, but one did the balancing act. Similarly, there were many things I said no to which I would have loved to do but couldn’t because of time constraints. I would have liked to do much more research in the handloom area, but I knew it would take some years out of my day to day work and I didn’t have them to spare, but maybe I can do it now.

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