How Onam Traditions Are Inspiring A New Wave In Modern Art & Fashion

Onam, Kerala’s most celebrated harvest festival, is a vivid explosion of tradition, colour, and cultural pride. Rooted in mythology and agrarian rituals, it blends the beautiful aspects of the state’s arts, dance, food and music. Onam traditions in modern art and fashion are being reimagined in powerful new ways. Over the past few years, Onam has secretly influenced how artists, designers and fashion enthusiasts interpret its traditions. You can see these age-old traditions influencing everything, whether in Western fashion, modern paintings, urban style or anything else related to pop culture.

Blooming Beyond Borders: The Pookalam Effect

The pookalam, an intricate floral carpet created during the ten days of Onam, has long been a visual centrepiece of the festival. Traditionally designed on the ground with layers of fresh petals, it is both a spiritual and aesthetic offering. But the pookalam has stepped beyond household courtyards and temple steps. It now serves as inspiration for everything from fashion prints to digital graphics.

Designers are borrowing the radial symmetry and botanical motifs of pookalams to create everything from lehengas and dupattas to wall art and home decor. Kerala-based brands like Rouka have infused pookalam-inspired elements into their festive collections, blending geometric petal patterns with soft cottons and linens, perfect for urban sensibilities. Meanwhile, international textile designers are discovering the potential of this art form in circular prints and mandala-inspired fabrics.

On digital platforms, pookalam designs have also taken on a new life. Digital illustrators are reimagining them in vibrant 3D models, NFTs, and interactive Instagram filters. The combination of tradition and tech is helping recontextualize pookalam as a symbol of mindful creativity, appreciated by audiences well beyond Kerala’s borders.

Puli Kali: The Tiger That Roared Into Pop Culture

If the pookalam represents grace and order, puli kali or the tiger dance channels raw energy and theatrical expression. Originating in Thrissur, this folk art involves performers painting their bodies with tiger stripes and dancing ferociously to the rhythm of traditional drums. For years, it remained a largely male dominated performance tied to rural celebrations. But today, it has become a dynamic emblem of cultural reinvention.

Puli kali’s transformation began on the streets, first as a local spectacle and now as a global symbol. Contemporary artists have embraced its bold visuals to challenge gender norms, social hierarchies, and identity politics. In 2023, a viral video of an all women puli kali troupe broke the internet, signifying not just inclusivity, but also the evolving feminist voice in Kerala’s cultural scene.

Fashion designers are also translating the feral energy of puli kali into wearable art. Graphic tees, bomber jackets, and even sneakers now feature stylised tiger faces, paw prints, and tribal patterns reminiscent of body paint motifs. The style has resonated with Gen Z and streetwear fans alike, who see in puli kali a powerful blend of rebellion and tradition.

Tradition as Medium: Onam Inspired Contemporary Art

Beyond fashion, visual artists are using Onam’s motifs to explore deeper societal themes. From photo series highlighting gendered labour in festive preparations to installations showcasing pookalams made of recycled waste, creators are using Onam symbols to comment on consumerism, climate change, and cultural homogenisation.

Digital and performance art spaces too are seeing a rise in Onam centric themes. A recent Kochi Muziris Biennale exhibition featured interactive AR experiences where users could enter a pookalam or dance alongside a virtual puli kali troupe. Meanwhile, YouTube and Instagram are flooded with stylised short films and reels that reinvent Onam dance forms like Thiruvathira with experimental choreography and global fusion music.

This artistic reimagining is not just aesthetic. It is political, emotional, and deeply personal. For many young Malayalis in the diaspora, creating Onam inspired art is a way of staying connected to their roots while adapting it to their current realities.

The Evergreen Elegance of Kasavu: Kerala's Sari Reimagined

Perhaps the most iconic symbol of Onam fashion is the Kerala Kasavu, an elegant off-white cotton attire featuring a simple gold border. Traditionally, a saree or mundu-veshti, the Kasavu's minimalist charm has made it a timeless canvas for reinvention.

Contemporary designers are deconstructing this classic look. Brands have experimented with the Kasavu by introducing muted pastels, modern motifs alongside the gold zari, and unconventional drapes. We now see Kasavu-inspired gowns, minimalist co-ord sets, and even formal jackets that retain the fabric's understated grace while appealing to a global audience. The focus has shifted from mere preservation to innovative expression, proving that the simple elegance of Kasavu can be both traditional and trailblazing.

Heritage as a Living, Breathing Canvas

What we are witnessing is not a fading of tradition, but its reinvention. Onam today is no longer just a seasonal celebration. It is a dynamic creative force. Artists, designers, and performers are no longer preserving tradition for the sake of nostalgia. They are remixing it, reinterpreting it, and representing it to the world in exciting new formats.

In doing so, they ensure that Onam remains relevant in a rapidly changing cultural landscape. The flower petals of pookalam are now pixels. The roar of puli kali echoes in fashion runways and Spotify playlists. What remains unchanged is the spirit, vibrant, inclusive, and unmistakably Keralite.

Onam has always been about unity, joy, and prosperity. Its latest chapter is about expression, of identity, of art, and of a tradition that refuses to stay still.

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