Ritu Kumar Shares 10 Of Her Most Iconic Looks From Bollywood

10 of 10

“WHEN I STARTED MY JOURNEY AS A DESIGNER, THERE WAS NO INDIAN MUSE.

There were only Maharanis in chiffon saris and yards of pearls. After Independence came the rise of the Miss India celebrity—My personal interest was to promote the textiles and crafts of India, and I used to send them with two suitcases full of bandhini and zardozi clothes. The girls were the showstoppers in their saris, amidst a sea of jeans and little black dresses. I remember, Aishwarya (Rai Bachchan) wore a bright red sari with a bright red lipstick even at rehearsals in London, and she overshadowed everyone in the room. And Sushmita (Sen) was so good with the crafts; the jamdanis, zardozis, juttis, and parandis. Lara Dutta was an absolute beauty. And Priyanka (Chopra Jonas) shot a campaign with me for two days, looking stunning in a tiny net choli and lehenga. She had an aura about her, a way of looking at herself and the world, and I think she knew she was going to win Miss World. Soon, there were showstoppers on the runways: Aditi Rao Hydari brought to life the red and bottle green lehenga with the net odhni, and Neha Dhupia walked the ramp in a heavy zardozi set with a Benarasi dupatta. Each girl looked gorgeous in the exquisitely-crafted creations.”