Ritu Kumar is an Indian fashion designer. Ritu Kumar was born on 11th November 1944 in Amritsar, Punjab. A native of Delhi, Ritu graduated from Lady Irwin College in 1964 and did her higher education from Briarcliff College, NY, USA in 1966. The ace designer had a humble beginning in a small village, near Kolkata, in 1960, with hand block printers and two tablets to flaunt about. With the passage of years, fashion grew and so did her network. From being a designer to an author, Ritu Kumar has been the master of the game. Many times, Ritu has won the award for the Most Outstanding Evening Gown in International pageants. She was honored by the National Institute of Fashion Technology in 1998, with Lifetime Achievement Award. The same year saw her receiving the Outstanding Women Entrepreneur Award, bestowed on her by the PHD - Chamber of Commerce. In the year 2000, Ritu Kumar proved her metal once more and was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Kingfisher group of industries.

In 2002 she launched the "Label" line in partnership with her son Amrish. In 2013 she was given the Padma Shri award by the Government of India. Kumar discusses her career at length in a recent interview for the Creating Emerging Markets project at the Harvard Business School, beginning with how she first broke into the Paris and New York fashion houses and department stores in the 1970s.