This ready-to-wear fashion is inspired by the 'Holi festival' in India and 'Wayang kulit' from Indonesia. The Holi festival theme applied for the color of the clothing and buttons as well as the lines contained in the clothing. For the theme of Wayang kulit, applied for a surface with embroidery.
What is Holi?
Holi has been celebrated in the Indian subcontinent for centuries, with poems documenting celebrations dating back to the 4th century CE. It marks the beginning of spring after a long winter, symbolic of the triumph of good over evil. It is celebrated in March, corresponding to the Hindu calendar month of Phalguna. In 2020, Holi begins March 10.
There are varying accounts of Holi’s origin mentioned in several works of ancient Indian literature. According to one popular version of the story, an evil king became so powerful that he forced his subjects to worship him as their god. But to the king’s ire, his son Prahlada continued to be an ardent devotee of the Hindu deity Lord Vishnu. The angry king plotted with his sister, Holika, to kill his son. Holika, who was immune to fire, tricked Prahlada to sit in a pyre with her. When the pyre was lit, the boy’s devotion to Lord Vishnu helped him walk away unscathed while Holika, from whom the festival derives its name, was burned to death despite her immunity.
What is Wayang kulit?
Wayang Kulit, an Indonesian form of shadow puppetry, holds the audience’s attention with riveting storylines executed masterfully by the dhalang, or puppeteer. The puppets are made of buffalo hide and intricately designed, down to the most minute detail of costume and color, to help the audience distinguish between the different characters.
The dhalang tells the stories of kings, princesses, ogres, and knights, using deft hand movement and narration. While traditional performances used cotton sheets and oil lamps to create the play of light, electric bulbs or other sources of light are used today. Many of the plots draw from episodes seen in the Hindu epics Ramayana and Mahabharata. Wayang Kulit was declared a Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2003.
