It was through 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 widespread need to enterprise into the world of vogue. Alka Suman — Adhyayan’s mom, and designer who runs Label Alkaline — has been within the vogue trade for a number of years and the duo wished to highlight her creations on a bigger 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.”
An outfit at Duchess Kumari
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Special Arrangement
The identify of the model, Duchess Kumari, spotlights their ethos of giving Indian crafts a Victorian contact. The label’s first assortment incorporates a heady mixture of wealthy Indian textiles reminiscent of brocade, uncooked silk, Chanderi, and ikkat, coupled with modern design parts reminiscent of bows, polka dots, pearls, and crystal elaborations. Divided throughout classes reminiscent of cocktail put on, resort put on, luxe wedding ceremony put on, and excessive vogue, the vary contains clothes, jackets, skirts, pantsuits, kaftan pant units, skirt units, and extra.
Sanyukta, a double tissue skirt set comes with a Victorian fashion shirt with puffed sleeves, embroidered suspenders, and an emerald silk collar bow
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Special Arrangement
While Alka is the Indian textile knowledgeable, Divita has introduced within the modern touches to the attire. “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 staff of karigars in Mumbai who make money working 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, including that the staff is now focussing on lighter materials reminiscent of linen and mul for the summer time.
An outfit at Duchess Kumari
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Special Arrangement
Elaborating on the primary drop — a mixture of clothes, skirt units, pant units — Divita says the purpose was to craft event put on and assertion items within the mid-luxury vary. “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 attire a recent spin. This has been carried out by means of embroidered buttons, bows on collars, and so forth. “This has been done to reject the brand’s duality,” she provides.
The Scottish checks pantsuit set
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Special Arrangement
For instance, Bella, a magenta pink costume is crafted in uncooked silk, however the velvet bow on the collar offers it a Victorian contact. Similarly, the Scottish checks pantsuit set has been given an Indian contact with hand embroidery, and Sanyukta, a double tissue skirt set comes with a Victorian fashion shirt 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, including how the staff ensures every bit turns into 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 put on begins at ₹25,000 on duchesskumari.com
Published – June 11, 2025 03:14 pm IST
