Onam weaves for 2022 comes alive with blooms and Kerala-themed motifs

Designers dress up the traditional cream-and-gold Kerala cotton with hand-painted motifs, embroidery, cut work and more

Shades of cream, ivory, off-white, gold and silver capture the season of festivities in the warp and weft of handwoven textiles bought as Onakodi, new clothes specifically bought for the festival. Over the years, special Onam collections celebrate the harvest festival with motifs and colours that symbolise the season. And what better way to welcome the festival than with blooms? Flowers are an integral part of Onam, when paddy fields turn golden and Nature is decked in her best.

To capture the mood of the harvest, Kochi-based actor-designer Poornima Indrajith’s festival collection highlights sheaves of ripened paddy on saris, dress material in  Kerala cotton bordered with gold zari and embroidered bespoke blouses. She explains: “As part of my homework to create something special for Onam, I decided to focus on Nellkathir (ripe, golden panicles of paddy), which symbolises prosperity and abundance. Hand-embroidered on the sari, the motif gives a three-dimensional effect. The collection, Nellu: the Seeds of Hope, has the motif paired with colours such as mint green, orange and red,” says Poornima. Saris, salwar suits and dresses have her signature nellu motif this year.

In Thiruvananthapuram, Valentina Abenavoli wants to usher in Onam 2022 with a bouquet of flowers. Sprigs of deep yellow laburnum, red hibiscus, and delicate blossoms in pinks and blues blossom on cream-and-gold Kerala cottons, the traditional hues of Onam. The floral accent also manifests as intricate cut work on saris. The Blooms collection of Ethnic Weaves, a boutique store, showcases Valentina’s evergreen garden.

Nivethitha Sanjay’s offering for Onam shoppers features blooms from far and wide on Kerala cotton saris. Nivethitha, a resident of Kochi, says, “Apart from flowers such as hibiscus, sunflowers, gulmohur and boungainvillea, I have used cherry blossoms and orchids to adorn my saris under the brand name of Turmerik. Block-printed flowers are hand-painted to bring in the finer details.”

Designer Sreejith Jeevan of Rouka in Kochi laughs when he says that since his Onam edit of 2019, which celebrated flowers, the craze for mural-like paintings on Kerala cotton saris, dhotis, shirts, long skirts et al has been overshadowed by flowers.

“Working with a cluster of handloom weavers in Chendamangalam, my endeavour has been to find out how to overcome this festival-related cyclical buying of Kerala kasavu (the gold and silver border) saris and dhotis and give it a contemporary touch to make it a part of everyday wardrobes of women and men of all ages.”

For this Onam, Sreejith has cream dhotis edged with gold kasavu, adorned with embroidered motifs of traditional lamps, elephants, dragonflies and lotus on the side of the vertical kasavu. In addition to saris with appliqued hibiscus, gulmohur and shankupushpam, he also offers mix-and-match options with duppatas and mundu. “It can be used as traditional mundu-neriyathu set and the neriyathu doubles up as a dupatta too,” he adds. Then there are saris with ruffles in red, black and cream.