Priyanka, Neha walk the ramp for Ritu Kumar at HDIL Couture Week
THE DESIGN HOUSE OF ‘RITU KUMAR CELEBRATES ITS 40 YEARS OF EXISTENCE IN 2008. WE START OUR YEAR LONG CELEBRATION BY WITH A COUTURE SHOW FOLLOWED BY A SERIES OF EVENTS AND PROGRAMMES TAKING PLACE OVER THE NEXT ONE YEAR…
Priyanka Chopra, Riya Sen, Raima Sen, Moon Moon Sen, Karan Johar, Shabana Azmi, Javed Akhtar, Anushka Manchanda, Madhoo, Suchitra Pillai, Neha Dhupia, Pooja Misra, Tupur and Tapur Chatterjee, Gul Panag, Shruthi Seth were present at the showcase of Ritu Kumars Collection at HDIL Couture Week in Grand Hyatt on 16th September 2008
1) COUTURE
India is hosting its first ever indigenous ‘Couture Week’ in Mumbai on September 16. Ritu Kumar celebrates the occasion to commemorate its 40 years of existence by opening the ‘invitation only’ high profile event at the Grand Hyatt
Ritu Kumar says “it is a significant year for Indian fashion which has comes of age now”. The fashion industry celebrates its oldest design house as Ritu Kumar puts together for their anniversary a retrospective collection which is classical in its antiquity with a very modern state-of-the-art twist to it. We in India look forward to the display of a design house which has been known for its indepth research and commitment to the Indian craftsman and the rich textile legacy.
With a large influx of luxury brands in India, this show would count as one of the best of its kind hosted anywhere. The event will see record attendance as the novelty of a couture week is very high.
The Ritu Kumar line displays both sides of the spectrum—traditional and modern. A highly innovative designer that Ritu Kumar is, she has been able to move from her traditional RI line to the very modern Ritu Kumar LABEL collection with great felicity.
The show promises to mount both the collections but in their pure couture format. If there is any doubt that in India luxury is a concept in couture clothing borrowed from western designers, this year-long celebration – the first of its kind in India — will put all those doubts to rest. The show promises to be a visual treat where both style and clean aesthetics – a legacy of this country — will come together in Ritu Kumar’s inimitable homogeneity which has catalysed many a change in the country’s fashion history. It is a not-to-be-missed “rare exposition” which should figure on anyone’s calendar.
RETROSPECTIVE
In retrospect, when the designer opened India’s first ever boutique in Delhi in 1967 followed up by a small store in Kolkata little did we realise that the country’s first boutique would become the nation’s first brand. The Ritu Kumar label in its 40-year existence has grown to attain pan-India presence and wide popularity across different age groups and fashion swings. With deep-rooted conviction in the promotion of indigenous designs and equal interest in contemporary lifestyles, the designer has reinvented her work taking inspiration from the vast land that India is to create a state-of-the-art, hip and happening collection called RITU KUMAR LABEL which is high on the popularity charts with the younger generation and growing as fast as the country’s younger aspirational professional.
