Ritu Kumar: Designer

Ritu Kumar is synonymous with bridal wear. What do you see at the moment for the modern bride?

The focus has shifted to a more self-assured look. What was limited to the bridal trousseau or traditional events has now been translated into eccentric fusion wear. The modern bride’s wardrobe has expanded to include contemporary Western outfits for everyday wear. Fluid silky blouses and pants in contrasting colours are great for celebratory evenings. Earlier, there were very few bridal outfits and no such thing as bridal fashion. Now, the trend is so huge that people cannot think of bridal wear without designers. Keeping this in mind, we have even started a cocktail line.

What do you see for the Indian groom this season?

I see a lot of experimentation with colours. The Indian man need not be limited in terms of colour when it comes to his wardrobe. While the base can be a cream colour, elements and accessories in maroon, green and other jewel colours can be paired for a festive air.

Is there a garment or accessory you would like to see come back in style?

Fashion is cyclic in nature because there are just a limited number of products that we can produce from a piece of cloth. It is, thus, important to look at that dimension. Sometimes, colours come back into fashion. The difference is in form. Patterns like parallels and patiala salwars have come back in the past few years. So have floral prints and hand-block prints.

Classics will return. Prints, stripes, colours or a particular silhouette… what do you predict is going to be the next big thing?

Our collections usually change every six weeks or two months. Say, today it’s about geometric patterns or stripes, sometime later it would be white palettes. Fashion is really dynamic, it keeps changing.

Name an outfit worn by a celebrity on the red carpet this year that you’ve loved.

A lot of celebrities have been dressed by me — Sushmita Sen, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Dia Mirza, Priyanka Chopra and Vidya Balan, to name a few. One of my favourites was Priyanka Chopra who wore an understated black sari at the Marrakech Film Festival. She looked beautiful. Another creation is what Dia Mirza wore for her D-day. It was a customised outfit designed after research on the royal costumes of India. The style dated back to the Mughal era and was contemporised but in essence had kept the embroidery tradition of the old zardozi craftsmanship. The ensemble was made of kurta, farshi pajama and dupatta. Dia looked fabulous.

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