Ritu Kumar

The lack of educational opportunities in Amritsar 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 in New York, where she studied Art History.{{Cite web|title=All About Ritu Kumar Fashion Designer in India|url=https://www.utsavpedia.com/fashion-cults/ritu-kumar/|date=2016-03-01|website=Utsavpedia|language=en-US|access-date=2020-05-18}} On returning to India, she studied museology at the Asutosh Museum of Indian Art, part of the University of Calcutta.{{cite web|last1=Garg|first1=Nikshubha|title=Meet Ritu Kumar, the doyen of Indian haute couture|date=21 December 2014 |url=http://www.mid-day.com/articles/meet-ritu-kumar-the-doyen-of-indian-haute-couture/15856179|publisher=Mid-Day|accessdate=7 September 2015}} Her son is Oscar nominated director, Ashvin Kumar.

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.{{cite book|author1=J. Michael Finger|author2=Philip Schuler|title=Poor People's Knowledge: Promoting Intellectual Property in Developing Countries|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=He46WGmWy1QC&pg=PT20|date=23 January 2004|publisher=World Bank Publications|isbn=978-0-8213-8369-8|page=20}} 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.{{cite book|author=Parminder Bhachu|title=Dangerous Designs: Asian Women Fashion the Diaspora Economies|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VaKJAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA68|date=5 October 2005|publisher=Routledge|isbn=1-134-90863-6|pages=68–69}}{{cite book|author=Hindol Sengupta|title=Ramp Up|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k7LkhFadBIwC&pg=PA162|year=2009|publisher=Pearson Education India|isbn=978-81-317-1974-9|pages=158–162}} In 2002 she launched the "Label" line in partnership with her son Amrish.{{cite book|author=Jill Bryant|title=Dazzling Women Designers|url=https://archive.org/details/dazzlingwomendes0000brya|url-access=registration|year=2010|publisher=Second Story Press|isbn=978-1-897187-82-1|page=[https://archive.org/details/dazzlingwomendes0000brya/page/65 65]}} Kumar discusses her career at length in a recent interview for the Creating Emerging Markets project at the Harvard Business School, beginning with how she first broke into the Paris and New York fashion houses and department stores in the 1970s.{{cite web |url=http://www.hbs.edu/businesshistory/emerging-markets/pages/profile-detail.aspx?profile=rkumar |title=Interview with Ritu Kumar |website=Creating Emerging Markets |publisher=Harvard Business School}}{{cite web |url=http://lifeandtrendz.com/ritu-kumar-gets-featured-in-harvard-business-school-study/ |title=Ritu Kumar Gets Featured in Harvard Business School Study |website=Life and Trendz |date=8 August 2015}}{{YouTube|id=Sra-N-gQp-Y |title="Doing Good By Doing Business - Creating Emerging Markets"}}

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.{{cite book|title=Indian Essentials|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1q0dbWEhiPgC&pg=PT184|date=1 January 2010|publisher=Penguin Books India|isbn=978-0-14-306526-5|page=184}} 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.{{Cite web|url=http://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/fashion/kalki-koechlin-shoots-for-label-ritu-kumars-new-campaign-2953705/|title=Kalki Koechlin shoots for Label Ritu Kumar's new campaign|date=2016-08-04|access-date=2016-08-10}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.vogue.in/content/10-times-bollywood-chose-ritu-kumar-wedding-wear/|title=10 times Bollywood chose Ritu Kumar wedding wear|date=2015-08-05|website=VOGUE India|access-date=2016-08-10}}

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.{{Cite web|url=https://www.digitalimpressions.in/work/ritu-kumar/|title=Ritu Kumar - Ecommerce Website by Digital Impressions|website=Digital Impressions - Ecommerce website development|language=en|access-date=2020-03-23}}

In 2013 Ritu Kumar was given the Padma Shri award by the Government of India.{{cite news|last1=McLaughlin-Duane|first1=Rebecca|date=1 June 2015|title=Indian celebrity designer Ritu Kumar unveils new collection in Dubai|work=The National|url=http://www.thenational.ae/arts-lifestyle/fashion/20150601/indian-celebrity-designer-ritu-kumar-unveils-new-collection-in-dubai|accessdate=7 September 2015}}

She won the Achievement Award in 2012 at L’oreal Paris Femina Women’s Awards.{{Cite web|title=All About Ritu Kumar Fashion Designer in India|url=https://www.utsavpedia.com/fashion-cults/ritu-kumar/|date=2016-03-01|website=Utsavpedia|language=en-US|access-date=2020-05-13}}

{{Reflist}}

• [https://www.ritukumar.com/ Official Website]
• [https://www.labelritukumar.com/ Ritu Kumar Label Official]
• [https://ri.ritukumar.com/ Ritu Kumar other Official Website]

{{Authority control}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2016}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kumar, Ritu}}

Category:Indian women fashion designers

Category:Indian fashion designers

Category:Living people

Category:Recipients of the Padma Shri in other fields

Category:Artists from Amritsar

Category:21st-century Indian designers

Category:Women artists from Punjab, India

Category:Year of birth missing (living people)

Category:Lady Irwin College alumni