Ritu Kumar, 

For more than four decades, Kumar has been the first name in Indian fashion. The first woman to launch a designer boutique in Kolkata in 1967, her business has grown to four factories that create 175,000 pieces of clothing annually. This year, she has added three stores and in the pipeline are seven more, which will give her 31 outlets nationwide. She is also bringing back traditional Indian designs with complex embroidery to create style that’s a benchmark for every modern Indian woman. Today, owning an original Kumar collection is every bride’s dream. She was conferred the Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in France this year.