Metallic hues, embroidery, prints dominate Ritu Kumar’s A/W line

Designer Ritu Kumar’s brand by the same name launched in 1969 reflects the ancient Indian tradition of craftsmanship in a contemporary setting. The brand is known for its distinctive use of colors, quality of fabrics, intricate embroidery and a gloriously rich Indian aesthetic sense. As Ritu Kumar says, “Each of our collection has three key elements: pure textiles, traditional embroidery and a highlight of the craft heritage from the country. This is our USP which makes each of our garments distinctive and beautiful to behold.”

A/W Collection

The brand’s A/W collection will see a lot of metallic, floral, embroidery, prints in structured silhouettes and well fitted garments ranging from dresses, lehengas, waistcoats and more. The dresses are casual day wear to night wear and the focus is on comfort and style. The colour palette ranges from soft colours like peach, mint green, white to metallic in shades of silver, gold and electric blue as well as old classics like red, blue and black are always a favourite which showcases elegance and add that touch of panache.

Natural saris a new addition

Kumar has taken innovation to a new level with natural saris made from banana, soyabean ets fibers, “We recently launched our natural sari range, which is an effort from us to create fashion that is sustainable yet quality driven. The saris are created using soybean, banana fibres and linen yarn which improves drape. These have prints like phulkaris, woven effects, floral and checks, while the colour palette adds to the vintage look and feel which the brand is well known for.”

Meanwhile the brand is expanding aggressively in Tier I and II cities across India with a specific focus on international expansion and plans to be available at over a 100 customer touch points including online and offline retail by the end of this year. Kumar says “The ethnic wear market is large and continuously growing every season. India is a country which celebrates numerous festivals and love wearing ethnic wear during those days so the market has seen continuous growth.” A/W season is the time for weddings when people opt for ethnic wear more, thus demand always peaks during compared to the first half of the year.

She goes on to add, “Women’s ethnic wear segment has always been a big part of the fashion industry in India as people love wearing traditional wear, not just on special occasions but even during festivals. Occasion-wear fashion has expanded as a category since weddings today are more elaborate and have multiple ceremonies. Everyone has become more focused on trends, thus the influence of western fashion is now reflected in Indian occasion wear as well.”

As for competition in prêt-à-porter category she says “There are talented designers and they all have unique styles that define their collection. One cannot be compared to another because what they create and the technique they use is exclusive to their brand.” Kumar has three different lines in her collection, Label, Ritu Kumar and Ri which is the bridal and occasion wear line. They appeal to different segments of the market and provide different types of garments. “We make an effort to appeal to a large audience. Hence, there is something for everyone,” she concludes.