ITAA Proceedings 2001 Target Market

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© 2001, International Textile and Apparel Association, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
ITAA Proceedings, #59 – www.itaaonline.org
2001 Proceedings Kansas City, MO, USA
HOLI
Hera Gnanadorai
SUNY at Oneonta, Oneonta, NY 13820
The purpose of this project was to create an apparel design for cocktail wear with inspiration
from the festival Holi that is celebrated in India. As an Indian I have experienced it as a day
filled with color, excitement, happiness, and fun. The colors— electric blue, mustard yellow, hot
pink, emerald green powders—are thrown at everyone in sight. The more colors on you the
better. The garment was draped. The colors were the main focus. To create some interest the
front bodice was discharge dyed from the color mustard yellow to a subtle pink with hints of the
original color left behind by tie dying technique. The surface of the bodice was also manipulated
with a quilting technique and further texturized by first stitching half an outline of an elephant,
one of the main decorated characters in Holi, and then different color threads were placed
randomly on the bodice, stitched in place with another contrasting color to portray the chaotic
day and the beautiful/colorful mess a festival like this creates. The fabrics used in this design are
cotton and polyester.