Ritu Kumar talks about designing for B-Town ladies

Fashion designer Ritu Kumar is busy shuttling between Mumbai and Delhi these days. The designer just changed the address of her signature store in Mumbai to another location nearby, and she wanted to make sure that everything, right from the way the mannequins were placed, to the draping of the clothes, was just perfect in her new store. Tell her that the previous store had become a landmark of sorts and she shrugs nonchalantly, “It was time to make new landmarks.”

Ritu has also brought her new line, that she recently showed in Delhi, to Mumbai. Based on five mythological women characters — Ganga, Draupadi, Kunti, Amba and Gandhari, her new line, ‘Panchvastra’ is traditional to the core. Boasting of Indian embellishments, the collection fuses a vibrant colour palate with delicate and feminine cuts and patterns. “There is a lot of mirror work, gota, zardosi embroidery and the like to give it a royal look,” says Ritu.

The designer also designed a chunk of actor Genelia D’Souza’s wedding trousseau. “Genelia knows what suits her and what doesn’t, so she doesn’t take much time to finalise designs. She’s also not fussy,” says Ritu, adding that Genelia had given her complete freedom to design outfits that she thought would look good on her. “I didn’t give her outfits with a lot of bling. She has a petite frame, so I thought that something with minimal bling, simple and structured, would be apt for her,” says Ritu. She wore the outfits for several functions and during various rituals but she’s been so busy post her wedding that even I haven’t seen how she looked in them yet,” says Ritu adding that Genelia has promised to share pictures with her soon enough.

Ask Ritu about what ensembles she has put together for actor Kareena Kapoor’s wedding, and she says that the announcements will be made by the respective families when the time is right. Till then, we’ll just have to wait and watch.