Would you then call this “sustainable” fashion?
everything, this also saw a slump. Today, the government recognises that textiles is the second-largest industry in India after agriculture and they are really focusing on it. Prime Minister’s [Narendra Modi] constituency is Benares [Varanasi] and he wants the handlooms there revived. India is the only country left in the world which has them or the craft of handweaving. So, it’s almost like a national treasure and we really have a responsibility to ensure that it stays there.
I think sustaining something even as simple as cotton is a very important thing. Yes, you have the alternative man-made polyester fabrics but there’s a huge difference between the two. For a country like ours, a climate like ours and a tradition like ours, it’s extremely important that we are aware of the fact that if we destroy this we are destroying a complete lifestyle. So there is a responsibility, and also an aesthetic and a cultural background to this, which I feel the country is deflecting at the moment through its fashion.
It’s a good time to look at understanding of fashion. It has been largely induced by deep pockets of the multinationals. I think it’s time now to ask ourselves, isn’t there an alternative to this? And I think that’s what I’m trying to find.
Yes, the designers want to use traditional crafts, but is it in demand?
I’m amazed that people want it. Fifteen years ago when the international high street labels made their way into India I thought, like China, we would lose it as well. Everybody would be wearing little black dresses and that would be the end of the sari. But it hasn’t happened and I really feel that’s a miracle. The younger generation may want to wear a top with jeans but [they are fine if it’s] made of khadi or some mirror work or bandini on it. So yes, because the aesthetics have been brought to their notice, they are sentimentally getting more attached to them.
How do you bring about this fusion in your designs?
I have line called the Ritu Kumar Line, which is not bridal or the young, jumpy kid kind. It’s in between, like clubby dressing, which India does a lot. It’s about layering. It can [be] cotton, it can be non-structured clothes and that seems to be India’s way forward. I think lots of people vibe with that.
You started working at a time when women, forget work, were not allowed out of the house. What challenges have you faced as a woman in your career?
For one thing I wasn’t part of the traditional glamour industry. I went to a university where wearing khadi [tunic], Kolhapuri [slippers] and carrying [totes] were cool. I grew in work in Bengal and received a lot of support from the craftspeople, because there was [really] no fashion at the time — we opened the first boutique in the country. If I faced challenges it was because I didn’t know where to go. There were no institutions like NIFT [National Institute of Fashion Technology]; there were no platforms where shows were held; there were no retail stores. Those were problems I had. But working as a woman in India, was not one.
What would you be if not a designer? I think I’d probably be a museologist.