An Indian Summer

When thinking of the fashion capitals on the world, London, New York or Pairs may spring to mind, but you probably wouldn’t think of India. While traditional dress is still worn in rural India, urban India is rapidly becoming home to exotic, vibrant fashion. 

Despite the market for Indian designer fashion still being only a fraction of 1 per cent, India has made its statement worldwide with its traditional bindis, saris and bangles, and is home to some of the most influential and beautiful designs in the fashion industry. 

India has come a long way since outrage was caused when Zandra Rhodes first adapted the sari for high fashion. Now a number of Indian designers are showing stunning collections inspired by traditional Indian dress.

One designer whose collection particularly stands out is Ritu Kumar. 

 Kumar has five decades of fashion behind her and has been extremely influential in establishing India in the global market. Her collections display innovativeness and creativity, while at the same time the clothes stay loyal to the Indian influence. Kumar manages to succeed at both traditional and western designs and fuse the two together, to attract both European and Indian buyers.

Kumar’s Spring/Summer collection at India Fashion Week 2013 is a perfect example of this. 

The first thing you notice is the graphic prints, exotic colours and Indian silhoutettes all scattered with embellishments and gold. This seems expected of an Indian designer, however the geometric prints on luxury chiffon fabrics feel very western.

The collection has a very royal feel to it with rich colours contrasting with dark fabrics and gold jewels.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

It is difficult not to fall in love with this collection, and easy to see why Kumar is so successful and influential to the fashion industry in both India and Europe. So when it comes to fashion capitals, It is time we gave more recognition to the talent and beauty which comes from countries such as India.