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Minimalist look The new line is all about ultra new age meets Orientalism

Working with Amrish, the fond mum says, had its ups and downs. “Amrish has been working with me since he was a boy. Working together brought its share of arguments and creative differences. I have my pace and way of working and he has his. It was quite a learning experience. I have been in this field for 40 years and it is nice to get a new perspective. He is more adventurous and daring.”

Talking about the line, Ritu says: “It is a departure from my regular line. It is aimed at a younger, modern generation. Opening with greys and whites, it moves towards indigo. Inspired by the Indian summer, the tone is minimalist. The colours are inspired by Ikat from Andhra Pradesh. We have also used the Durga motif.” The line, with its hints of mirror work and embroidery in fabrics including jersey, silk chinon, satin and khadi, all echo the theme of new age meets Orientalism.

Insisting the time has come to look within our backyards, Ritu urges all style slaves “not to think Dior, think Indian”. With her background in art history and museology, Ritu was one of the frontrunners of reviving traditional Indian crafts and giving it a contemporary idiom. “There is no dearth of talent in India, but in terms of scale, we are still in the cottage industry bracket — not up there with international brands and their deep pockets.” In the field for over 40 years, starting off with four hand-block printers and two tables in Calcutta, Ritu says: “Traditional crafts were wiped out thanks to the British. Now handicrafts are taken for granted, it is such a part of life, but it was not so then.”

With bringing traditional Indian crafts to the forefront of the fashion industry, can the diva be deemed responsible for the neo-classical age in couture? “I guess we can say we are getting there.”

Ritu has gone on record to say that fashion is built on the concept of not feeling good about oneself. “What I meant is fashion should not be about making people fashion victims.”

Forecasting is huge in the fashion industry world-wide but Ritu feels it would not work in India. “The country is too large and individualistic for forecasting to work. We cannot be dictated to about which colour or cut is in for the next six months.”

All for the new-age bride who believes in flaunting her body rather than burying it under heavily-embellished tents, Ritu says: “The sari will never go out of style and will always be the outfit for the wedding ceremony. Brides are adventurous when it comes to the other functions and ceremonies like the sangeet. Everyone works out and has toned bodies so there is nothing wrong in flaunting it.”

Fashion and the movies are inextricably bound together and Ritu has done her share of designing for the movies, from Deepa Mehta’s Hollywood/Bollywood to filmmaker son, Ashwin’s Little Terrorist and The Forest. “I like to do realistic clothes and would like to work on a proper period film.” Not having watched Jodhaa Akbar, Ritu does not wish to comment on the costumes. “I would like to work on a film set in the colonial period from an Indian perspective as there are reference points you can go to.”

On animal rights and fashion, Ritu comments: “I would not like to use fur while leather is a fact of life. But using leather for a glamorous look does not really work in India does it my dear? I mean who wants to sweat it out in an Indian summer in a leather trench coat?”

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