Product Description

About Our Blossoms of Ebony Top

Material
Crisp hand-woven cotton, with 100% rayon trim. The cotton naturally softens after the first few washes. Designed in India by Ritu Agnihotri.

Sizing Chart (in inches)

Washing Instructions
Machine-wash in cold water, then line-dry.

About the Designer: Ritu Agnihotri

Ritu Agnihotri

Having the ability to create something beautiful is a skill that designer Ritu Agnihotri treasures dearly. When she was young, she enjoyed the drawing classes she used to take during her free time, sitting quietly and making her own sketches and paintings. She dreamed of a day when she could do this kind of work for a living.

Born in 1961, Ritu Agnihotri is part of a generation that remembers when fashion design was new to India. “You could say I was one of the pioneers in fashion design,” she says—“and what a struggle it was at the time!” After graduating from the National Institute of Design in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, she pursued her dreams in earnest. Now she specializes in textile design featuring a blend of embroidered work with strong print lines.

What she enjoys doing most are textured prints, which are not the regular flat prints typically found in the markets. She starts with traditional motifs from different regions in India, but then makes them slightly different. Yet it’s not contrived, as she intentionally avoids drawing it out too perfectly.

When she first exhibited her designs in Calcutta, all who came appreciated what they saw. Through their comments she became aware that they could tell her designs were somewhat different from what they were used to seeing in the markets. Ritu also had an exhibition of prints and embroideries in Kenya, where she realized she felt a connection with the rustic prints they make there. Knowledgeable in historic patterns and motifs, she believes the vibrant compositions in the woven baskets and fabrics of Africa correlate to the way Indians use color in their own crafts.

Connecting with the past, she feels a deep bond with the prints she makes, which are all done with linoleum cuts. She creates the designs on a rubber plate and etches out her patterns, and then takes a paper impression. “During those moments of creation,” she says, “I am just quiet and at peace with everything around me, while inside I am vibrant with energy that gets transferred into my designs. It’s an incredible exploratory moment.” All her prints come from these initial explorations, which she transforms into something that anyone can relate to.

“I make my prints and design my clothes with a lot of passion and delight; I hope you enjoy wearing them.”

Additional Information