Ritu Kumar
Pioneering fashion designer who revived Indian textile crafts
- Age
- 81 yrs
- Birthday in 16 days
- Works listed
- 1
- Book
- Honours
- 2
- Most recent 2013
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Ritu Kumar is one of India’s first and most influential fashion designers. Starting in the 1960s with hand block printing in Bengal, she built a fashion house rooted in traditional Indian crafts and was awarded the Padma Shri in 2013.
Biography
Early life and education
Ritu Kumar grew up in Amritsar and, for lack of schooling options there, went to Loreto Convent in Shimla. She studied at Lady Irwin College in Delhi — where she met her husband, Shashi Kumar — and won a scholarship to study art history at Briarcliff College in New York. Back in India she studied museology at the University of Calcutta’s Asutosh Museum of Indian Art, an interest in heritage that shaped her whole career.
Building a fashion house
She started her business in Kolkata in the 1960s with two small tables and hand-block printers from villages near the city, making bridal and evening wear in natural fabrics. Through the 1970s and 1980s she broke into fashion houses and department stores in Paris and New York, and opened branches in Paris, London and New York. For a time her company had the highest turnover of any Indian fashion business. In 2002 she launched the younger line Label Ritu Kumar with her son Amrish.
Design and influence
Her work is rooted in traditional Indian printing, weaving and embroidery, especially revived techniques such as zardozi, which helped re-establish handcraft as luxury. Her clothes have been worn by figures from Princess Diana to Priyanka Chopra and Deepika Padukone. She documented royal Indian dress in her book Costumes and Textiles of Royal India (1999).
Recognition
She received the Padma Shri in 2013 and an achievement award at the Femina Women’s Awards in 2012. Her career has been studied in a Harvard Business School oral history of emerging-market entrepreneurs. Her son Ashvin Kumar is an Oscar-nominated filmmaker.
Legacy
Kumar is widely regarded as the mother of Indian fashion: a designer who showed that traditional crafts could become a modern luxury business decades before Indian fashion weeks existed. Her work helped revive dying techniques, provided livelihoods to craftspeople, and influenced younger designers who built labels around heritage textiles.
Timeline
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1944
Born in Amritsar, Punjab
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1966
Starts her business in Kolkata with hand-block printers
Approximate.
-
1999
Publishes Costumes and Textiles of Royal India
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2002
Launches Label Ritu Kumar
With her son Amrish.
-
2012
Achievement Award, Femina Women’s Awards
-
2013
Padma Shri
Notable works
-
1999
Costumes and Textiles of Royal India Book
Awards and honours
-
Femina Women’s Awards — Achievement Award
2012
-
Padma Shri
2013
Did you know?
-
1
She began her business with just two small tables and a team of hand-block printers.
-
2
Princess Diana wore her designs.
-
3
Her son Ashvin Kumar’s short film Little Terrorist was nominated for an Academy Award.
Gallery
Connections
Frequently asked
Who is Ritu Kumar?
Ritu Kumar is one of India’s first and most influential fashion designers. Starting in the 1960s with hand block printing in Bengal, she built a fashion house rooted in traditional Indian crafts and was awarded the Padma Shri in 2013.
How old is Ritu Kumar?
Ritu Kumar is 81 years old, born on 11 November 1944 in Amritsar, Punjab.
Where is Ritu Kumar from?
Ritu Kumar was born in Amritsar, Punjab.
What is Ritu Kumar known for?
Ritu Kumar is best known for Hand block printing and traditional embroidery; one of India’s first fashion labels.
What awards has Ritu Kumar received?
Notable honours include Femina Women’s Awards — Achievement Award (2012), Padma Shri (2013).
References
- Ritu Kumar — Wikipedia. Wikipedia. Retrieved 26 October 2026.
- Ritu Kumar — Hindi Wikipedia. Wikipedia (Hindi). Retrieved 26 October 2026.
- Official website. www.ritukumar.com. Retrieved 26 October 2026.
- Ritu Kumar (Q7336835) — structured data. Wikidata. Retrieved 26 October 2026.
External links
About this profile
- Researched by the TrackFame editors; reviewed by Sanjay Sokal
- First published 26 October 2026
- Last updated
Cite this page
“Ritu Kumar.” TrackFame, last updated 26 October 2026. https://trackfame.com/person/ritu-kumar
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