Ritu Beri is designing for India Railways staff as part of Project Swarn

By

Isabelle Crossley

Published
Aug 8, 2017

Ritu Beri will design a collection to be worn by five lakh Indian Railway staff and the collection will be unveiled on October 2nd, Ghandi’s birthday.

Starting with staffers on Rajdhani and Shatabdi trains, Ritu Beri’s uniform will eventually be worn by around five lakh railway staff including station masters, guards, ticket inspectors, caterers and drivers. The designs will be inspired by Indian art and culture itself and Beri herself stated that, “The idea is to create uniforms that are attractive, impactful and comfortable. The look has to be unified and it should speak about the philosophy of the company.”

Whilst Beri’s mood boards are full of vibrant Indian culture, the practicalities of train uniforms must also be considered. Beri explained that, “One of the concepts given by us to the ministry is reflector jackets and T-shirts, which enables an identity creation and would be easily recognisable in the crowd.”

Beri’s collection is part of an effort of the Modi government to reduce India’s slow growth and Beri agreed, opining, “I do believe that the railways are the key to economic growth.”

Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu recently stated that the government was taking steps to revitalise the railways and Beri’s collaboration will ensure at least that the staff have a professional new look.

Ritu Beri is based in New Delhi and studied fashion design there at the National Institute of Fashion Technology. Beri launched her eponymous label in India in 1990 and was the first Asian designer to head a French fashion brand, namely Jean-Louis Scherrer in 2002. Beri works with the Blessed Hearts Foundation which is currently working to raise awareness about autism and for this she will show her children’s wear on the catwalk for their upcoming Blessed Hearts Event in New Delhi.