HELLO! Exclusive: Princess Gauravi Kumari lends her royal touch to conscious luxury

She wears her legacy like a haute couture creation. Precious, bespoke, to be crafted afresh in every era. History has lavished beauty on Jaipur’s royal women. If a string of pearls and a chiffon saree was all Maharani Gayatri Devi needed, her great step-grand daughter Princess Gauravi Kumari’s twinkling, guileless, jewel eyes are her ultimate accessory. Anything else feels superfluous.

But let us be warned: looks can be deceptive. The fragilelooking late Maharani Gayatri Devi, known for her fashion and social activism, once famously said, “I just try to do what I can when I see unhappiness around me.” But she was quite the origin of a domino effect that has chased the royal women of Jaipur down the corridors of time.

Gayatri Devi’s mother Indira Devi hailed from the highly liberal Gaekwad dynasty of Baroda. While Gayatri Devi herself was born and raised in Cooch Behar, West Bengal, she carried those progressive values within her. The maharanis of Gujarat were literate decision makers, and it was but natural that when she relocated to Jaipur as third maharani to Sawai Man Singh II, she had already had the finest exposure—she even shot her first tiger at age 12. The new queen of Jaipur did away with purdah, kept a short bob haircut, established a girls’ school, wore trousers and eventually fought elections. You couldn’t have more iconic women to be inspired by, even two generations down. Today, Princess Gauravi’s mother, Princess Diya Kumari, carries a world of responsibility on her shoulders as Co-deputy Chief Minister of Rajasthan. Clearly, this is a karmic lineage, one that combines tradition, pomp and family pride with a deep sense of giving back. Empowering the women of Rajasthan has been a key leitmotif across three generations.

Back to our photo shoot, Princess Gauravi is a perfect portrait of contemporary styling meeting pristine elegance. Our location, an eclectic boutique hotel with iconoclastic décor elements, engages well with her minimalist vibe.

Her ballerina-slender frame and innate, stoic elegance lend a lightness to her portraits, punctuated by ever-so-subtle facial expressions. We see her glow up by notches as she discovers her own luminescence on camera. The team feels at ease with her openness, her trust. In an era that pronounces Gayatri Devi, as “the last maharani,” Princess Gauravi’s inherited sense of higher purpose assures us that there will be no entitlement or “princesszila” vibe.

How does the princess perceive her own journey? Here’s a timely tête-à-tête.

Your journey as an ambassador of luxury has intensified in the past few years. We see you associated with Jimmy Choo, Kama Ayurveda, Cartier and Ralph Lauren. Do you view these associations as hallmarks of how to build luxury brands with heritage crafts in India, as well?

Each brand I work with has a similar approach—blending modern luxury with timeless heritage. They’re rooted in their culture and heritage but have tailored their work to appeal to contemporary sensibilities. This isn’t an easy balance to strike, but these brands have found that. This is something we want to emphasise to the artisans we work with—how to bridge traditional crafts with modern styles, silhouettes and approaches.

In our fast, homogenised world, preserving heritage and traditional ways of doing things is most critical. Congratulations on launching PDKF’s Artisan Collective; it’s a celebration of female entrepreneurs and heritage crafts. How interested are global fashion houses in outsourcing work to your foundation’s heritage artisans?

Global fashion houses have been working with Indian artisans for decades, and there’s international recognition for the incredible craftsmanship that artisans in the country practice. Through PDKF’s Artisan Collective, we wanted to create a platform through which artisans can interact with designers, artists and creatives they could potentially collaborate with. We’re focused on building this as a global community. In fact, at the event, an artisan got one of her biggest orders ever from Taiwan!

When you look back at your exposure to global luxury brands, which atelier’s story and history appeals to you most? Stella McCartney stands for sustainability, Judith Leiber for crosscultural sculptural crystal bags...

Indian brands have been doing incredible work in building themselves as luxury labels that stay true to their essence. Kama Ayurveda is a great example of one such label. They’ve stayed rooted in their use of Ayurveda, of natural ingredients and a holistic approach, and elevated it to a global standard.

Can you narrate how your initiatives with PDKF have changed lives?

Deepikaji grew up surrounded by extreme poverty. She married her husband at 18, and due to certain health conditions, he was unable to work, forcing them to remain in poverty. On top of that, she was shamed by her community for not being able to have children or financially contribute. Deepikaji ultimately found work in a male-dominated factory, where she felt unsafe and earned a minimal income.

When Deepikaji first joined PDKF, she had low self-esteem. After a few months of training, she mastered a range of craft techniques and started to become confident. She quickly became one of the most talented members of our team, and she’s even been able to become financially independent. We’re so proud of how far she’s come.

Your mom’s generation was quite sheltered, but you were empowered by the freedom and opportunity to study at New York University (after Mayo College in Ajmer). You also pursued a BA in Media, Communications and Fashion Business from the Gallatin School of Individualized Study. How did this education support your vision?

I’m lucky to have had the opportunity to study abroad and be in such a vibrant city. Being in a place like New York, it’s impossible not to be inspired by the diversity, the vibrancy and the culture. It’s also where I developed my interest in fashion and creativity, both through my education and experience of being in New York. It helped me find my path to The PDKF Store and The Palace Atelier.

Do you marvel at the talent, curiosity and creativity of the underprivileged girls for whom you have opened three skill-building centres? Do you employ them to create merchandise for your fashion and lifestyle atelier at the City Palace?

This community is the driving force behind everything we do. They’re excited about learning and developing new skills, and the potential they have is limitless. We employ many of the women who work at the skillbuilding centres to create pieces for The PDKF Store, and for many of the others, we support them through Project Shakti. The project facilitates access to certified training courses in areas like tailoring, beauty services and digital literacy, to help them become entrepreneurs in their own right.

How successful has The Palace Atelier been as a conduit to connecting tourists to native creativity?

As the official museum store, The Palace Atelier showcases pieces that are inspired by the Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II Museum, by the crafts heritage of Jaipur and beyond. The City Palace is one of the most highly visited attractions in the country and sees over a million visitors a year. That makes The Palace Atelier uniquely positioned to showcase work to huge swathes of domestic and international tourists. That’s why it’s so carefully curated—I personally approve every piece that’s in the store. We want to showcase the diversity and excellence of artisans, designers and artists from across the country. Our Palace Collection, which consists of souvenirs inspired by the City Palace, is extremely popular. It’s a way for people to take a piece of the palace home with them.

Tell us about some light-hearted aspects of your world. Where do you wish to travel to most? Are you a great lover of museums? Which museums or world monuments have left you awestruck?

This summer, I’m looking forward to spending time in Mount Abu. Jaipur House used to be a family home; it now operates as a heritage hotel. Since it’s a hill station, it’s the perfect place to escape from the Jaipur heat.

Other than that, a part of my heart will always be in New York, so I love going back. The museums I used to visit when I lived there, like The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art, all shaped my vision for The Palace Atelier. They showed me how special museum stores can be, and how they could be a place to bring together different art forms and styles.

If there’s one change you wish to see in your lifetime for any of your family-owned properties, what would that be? Or if there’s one vision you’d like to see realised for your generation of young royals, what would it be?

Not a change, but to see the past, present and future bridged further. The City Palace is a living heritage site; it’s not just a tourist attraction, it’s where my family and I still reside. We’re constantly discussing the importance of using our spaces to facilitate conversations about art, design and heritage, and that’s something we’re all committed to doing more of. The Sculpture Park at Jaigarh is a great example of this; to create a site for contemporary art in a fort that dates back to 1056 AD is really special, and we’re excited to create more experiences like that.

The year 2023 saw two landmark events for the Princess Diya Kumari Foundation—the ReWild ’23 fundraiser at the City Palace, with the House of Anita Dongre, and then the gala dinner with Ralph Lauren, in support of PDKF. Do you have any such galas lined up for 2025? Any exciting new collaborations we can look forward to?

I can’t give anything away just yet, but we have big plans for The Palace Atelier and PDKF, including the second edition of The Artisan Collective, which we’re going to make even bigger. Just over the past few months, The Palace Atelier partnered with Prarthna Singh, Misho Designs and, of course, we had PDKF’s Artisan Collective. The year is just getting started...

Have you set any goals for yourself for the next five years?

I have one: to do even more. It’s been an incredible few years of working with the Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II Museum and the Princess Diya Kumari Foundation. Every day brings me inspiration for what else we could be doing.