Ritu Beri's designs for Railways' uniforms based on rustic coins, nawabs, tribal, pop art

It was in May this year that fashion designer Ritu Beri bagged a contract to redesign the uniforms of employees of the Indian Railways. While the news was met with congratulatory messages for Beri for the most part, there was a section of the fashion fraternity that wondered just how she had got the contract — the biggest ever to be granted to an individual designer. [caption id=“attachment_2918132” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Ritu Beri. Image from IBNlive[/caption] In fact, a blog post titled ‘ Sarkari Begum’, which went viral on social media, hinted that it was proximity to those in power rather than talent or design reputation that may have been at play. Beri did not immediately respond to the row. Now, reports state that the designer has submitted four “themes” for the consideration of the Indian Railways, around which the new uniforms will be created. The first theme draws from tribal art, the second from “rustic coins”, the third from the “age of the nawabs” and the fourth by pop art. Beri has recommended that employees and other stakeholders in the Railways be included in a competition that will help decide which of the themes they would like the uniforms to be based on. In an e-mail interaction to IANS, Beri said, “I believe that the uniform of an institution creates the necessary image that is desired to uplift its perception and impact, so I offered to do my bit by creating a new look for the staff of the Indian Railways.” “I am honoured to contribute in my own way to help create an image for the Indian Railways. I will not be charging for my services,” added the celebrated designer, who was among the first few Indian designers to showcase at the Paris Fashion Week. Talking about the designs for the uniform, Beri, who is popular for her clean cuts and sharp tailoring of western silhouettes, says the work is in progress. “The work on the uniform designs is in progress. I shall share details once everything is finalised. For now, we have made the first presentation. We have worked very hard for two months and researched on various possibilities,” she said. The designer will be working with Khadi and the “idea is to create uniforms that are attractive, impactful and comfortable all at the same time”. Talking about the cuts and silhouettes she plans to use, Beri said: “The uniforms will be Indo-western in cut and silhouette, with comfort being the most important factor. We have presented many options of themes, inspirations, colour palettes and silhouettes- which are attractive and eye catching.” But she wishes to have a traditional touch. “I wish to retain our traditional look but give it a modern twist in keeping with the time of today. Comfort of the uniforms is also key,” said Beri, adding that “the look of the uniforms will be an ode to India and the country’s exoticism.” In April this year, Beri launched two books: The Designs of a Restless Mind and The Fire of a Restless Mind. With inputs from IANS