Face-Off

Ritu Kumar8217;s name is legend in the fashion business. In the business for 30 years, from making history she has now turned to writing history.

The Costumes and Textiles of Royal India, published by Christie8217;s, is Ritu Kumar8217;s tribute to a business that she has dominated since she opened her first store in the late 8217;60s. A coffee-table book that will set you back by a whopping Rs 6,000, it is packed with information on Indian textiles and dressed up with beautiful pictures.

quot;I am not quite sure who I have written for.quot; But after spending the last 25 years researching fabrics for her own collections, this History of Art student wanted to document all the facts she had unearthed. And then, by coincidence, Christie8217;s approached her, four years ago, to put together a montage of royal costumes to celebrate India8217;s 50th year of Independence.

Well, they fitted together perfectly. quot;It was too huge an affair to write a book on the history of all Indian textiles. In any case, the greatest patrons of textiles were the royal families. Right from the Mughal era, royal families have been responsible for commissioning some really beautiful textiles. For instance, Kanjeeverams were mainly commissioned by the Vijaynagaram royal family.quot;

Not at all. This is the first time she has written a book and she found it quite hard. quot;I had written the occasional article but nothing serious.quot; It took her four years to put her book together. quot;Now that it8217;s over it will be a great relief to read someone else8217;s work.quot;

Yes, though most of her reading, since she began work on her book, has been confined to research for her two projects for Christie8217;s. quot;But I really enjoy fiction. I finished the Cairotrilogy in a week.quot;

quot;It has been hard to find time to do both. Now I am going to put all my efforts back into designing.quot;

quot;I cannot just style a piece, I have to design the textile too. That means there is bound to be a similar handwriting to all my work.quot;

quot;I am not sure about my fashion work. But yes I have revived some traditional textile forms.quot;

Ritu opened her own boutique in London three years ago and though she can boast of having a client list that includes Jemima Khan and the late Princess Diana, she says it has been hard work. quot;You do have a certain amount of loyal English clientele but mostly Indian fashion is bought by the Indians wholive abroad.quot;

No. quot;There are climatic and cultural reasons why Indian fashion cannot make a huge impact on the international scene. Just as you can8217;t really wear a little black dress in Kanpur, you can8217;t wear a kurta in England.quot; Ritu feels that the only way Indian fashion is going to gain any real international recognition is if the government sponsors the industry.

quot;It is just a phase. Instead of polka dots they are using paisleys. Next year they will look somewhere else for inspiration like Morocco.quot;

quot;I really like the work of Armani and Max Mara.quot; Obviously, she is into the classic look.

quot;NIFT is turning out some interesting young things. And asfor established designers I think Rakesh Thakore8217;s work is just wonderful. He is very individualistic and he does some really excellent fabric research.quot; Perhaps he is following in her footsteps.