How Duchess Kumari Brings Vintage Charm to Modern Indian Fashion

The Hindu

a day ago

It was during the shoot for Love Story of 90's, that former Miss Universe India contestant Divita Rai and her co-star actor Adhyayan Suman shared their common desire to venture into the world of fashion. Alka Suman — Adhyayan's mother, and designer who runs Label Alkaline — has been in the fashion industry for several years and the duo wanted to spotlight her creations on a larger platform. 'Alka aunty has a huge inventory of fabrics, and has been doing this as a personal interest for many years,' says Divita, 'Adhyayan and I felt there was a need for an affordable luxury label, and we wanted to own our heritage and also give it a contemporary twist.'
The name of the brand, Duchess Kumari, spotlights their ethos of giving Indian crafts a Victorian touch. The label's first collection features a heady mix of rich Indian textiles such as brocade, raw silk, Chanderi, and ikkat, coupled with contemporary design elements such as bows, polka dots, pearls, and crystal embellishments. Divided across categories such as cocktail wear, resort wear, luxe wedding wear, and high fashion, the range comprises dresses, jackets, skirts, pantsuits, kaftan pant sets, skirt sets, and more.
While Alka is the Indian textile expert, Divita has brought in the contemporary touches to the apparel. 'I have been working in the field for 35 years, and draw inspiration from designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee. My focus has been on crafting salwar suits, kurtis, etc in rich Indian textiles like Banarasi, Chanderi, with ethnic, vintage embroidery,' says Alka, who has a team of karigars in Mumbai who work from home. 'Divita and Adhyayan pushed me to launch this label, and I will keep adding designs to the label once they are ready. We don't go by seasonal launches, or fixed collections,' she says, adding that the team is now focussing on lighter fabrics such as linen and mul for the summer.
Elaborating on the first drop — a combination of dresses, skirt sets, pant sets — Divita says the aim was to craft occasion wear and statement pieces in the mid-luxury range. 'Our first range has eight bespoke pieces, and 24 ensembles in the pret line. We will be adding more to these as a part of the summer range,' says Divita, who has given the apparel a contemporary spin. This has been done by way of embroidered buttons, bows on collars, etc. 'This has been done to reject the brand's duality,' she adds.
For example, Bella, a magenta pink dress is crafted in raw silk, but the velvet bow at the collar gives it a Victorian touch. Similarly, the Scottish checks pantsuit set has been given an Indian touch with hand embroidery, and Sanyukta, a double tissue skirt set comes with a Victorian style blouse with puffed sleeves, embroidered suspenders, and an emerald silk collar bow. 'With our outfits, we are not leaning heavily on casual wear or bridal apparel, but are in between the cocktail and occasion wear range,' says Divita, adding how the team ensures every piece becomes an extension of the wearer's story. 'We believe true royalty isn't about status; it's about owning your narrative,' she concludes.
The pret line is priced upwards of ₹4,000, and bespoke wear starts at ₹25,000 on duchesskumari.com