New Delhi, Oct 25 (IANS): Known for her ethnic Indian wear, veteran designer Ritu Kumar is to participate in the first edition of World Fashion Week (WFW) next September as India's official entry. The ace designer says she has reached a milestone with this participation.
"It is good to be part of the Indian fashion phenomenon. It feels like one has reached a milestone with this participation," said Kumar who was selected by WFW for the event.
"The WFW is not a fashion week where collections are shown for business. The event is a platform to offer the richness of Indian couture, along with all countries and this makes it very special," she added.
The event, which is scheduled for September next year, will see designers from more then 50 countries showcasing their collection.
The preview show has been scheduled for Nov 11 this year at The Cipriani, New York.
"In the preview show, we will be showing one couture garment which will be displayed along with others designers from all over the world in various cities before being auctioned at an international event next year. The WFW will host 12 representatives from our design house and then we will be carrying a full fashion show in the final event," Kumar said.
Describing her collection she said: "The ensemble, which will represent India, is hand crafted and has taken four months to execute. The hand embroidery used is a combination of silver and gold threads are the essence of the Ganga-Jamuna look of India. This defines the confluence of silver and gold of the Benares weaves.
"We have embellished the piece with the best that the country can offer. Stylistically it has its ethos from authentic Indian stylistic elements with a slightly modern twist. The fabrics used are hand woven chanderi, velvets and net," Kumar told IANS.
When asked about her future plans apart from international shows, the designer said she is busy with some more store openings in near future.
"In the next couple of months, we will be opening stand alone stores in Cochin, Lucknow, then there will be a stand alone store of 'Label' here followed by multi brand outlet (MBO) in Dehradun, Karol Bagh, Bangalore and Cochin," she summarized.