Countries like Italy and France have always been the countries that have produced fashion designers. When we think of fashion these are the two countries that comes to ones mind. India in the past 30years has not been left too far behind and have come a long way in the world fashion, and also other industries such as movies and IT.
Fashion diva Ritu Beri can't conceal a nostalgic smile as her memory jogs down those carefree days at St Anthony's School, Hauz Khas. The words of her standard XI biology teacher, Rita Aggarwal, still ring in her ears: "Ritu, you'll grow up to open a beauty salon."
Ritu finished her graduation from Delhi University in 1987. She was slowly driven into finding something that would keep her
occupied. It was then that she started designing outfits for herself. Slowly she began designing outfits for friends and relatives thus bringing her into the business.
She further went on and enrolled herself at NIFT, affiliated to F.I.T, New York in 1988. Among the millions of applications that came she was among the 25 chosen students for the first batch.
Having spent two years at National Institute of Fashion Technology, and getting enough formal training that she wanted, it was here that she came out with her first graduation collection "Lavanya" in 1990. She was the first student to complete the fashion study course. This proved to be a huge success for Ritu both in her homeland as well as in the international market of fashion with her collecting being sold out very quickly. Success came instantly to her with this collection even in the fashion Meccas of London's Regent Street, where a number of her creations were sold.
After being recognized as huge name in the international fashion industry, Ritu came out with "Sanskriti" which was path-breaking way of tracing her roots, and she divided her collection into four sequences. This creation was more of a cultural offering, which saw a range of clothing that delighted the ethnic Indian population and this creation of hers made her a star in her own country.
According to Ritu Beri," Designing clothes for the Indian contingent is a great honour and a big challenge.
Ritu Beri also joined the Olympic fever, and created a special collection for the contingent to be worn at the opening ceremony. She launched " Caring means Sharing" for People for Animals - a project to fund animal care centers. She brought her unique line of collection, which compromised of T-shirts, caps, stuffed toys, posters, pens postcards, key chains, etc. The funds that were raised through these products were used for animal care center all over India.
As a fashion designer, Ritu Beri, has designed uniforms for many Indian companies such as Hyatt Recency Hotel in New Delhi,
uniform for the Delhi Police Force, and also designed a couple of pieces for the Indian Cinema, humara apna Bollywood.
With fashion growing in India Ritu Beri, the designer is gaining recognition for her simple and other times intricate designs, a woman who has put India on the top in the world of fashion.
Ritu is a columnist for many leading journals. She is the force behind making India emerge as a power in the fashion industry. With her stunning good looks and innovative designs, she is likely to pave the way for many more Indian designers to come.
Ritu Beri is the first Indian to go international in the fashion world. She has great design talent and is a young woman designing for other young woman. A very confident, mature, likeable that's Ritu Beri for you.
Ritu Beri says-"Today, the world is still my oyster and I appear to have succeeded in prizing it open just a little bit."