The colour is usually what catches your eye first. Powder hangs in the air, clothes change colour and faces become part of the scene. But Holi is a living festival with cultural and religious meaning, rather than simply a striking colour palette. Our Holi T-shirt takes that sense of movement and celebration as its starting point.
What is Holi?
Holi is a Hindu festival associated with spring, colour and love. It is celebrated across India and beyond, with regional traditions that cannot be reduced to one universal version. The Open University’s account connects the festival with the change of seasons, harvest celebrations and the diversity of people and nature.
Why is colour so central?
Throwing coloured powder and splashing coloured water are among Holi’s most recognisable practices. They turn celebration into something visible on people, clothing and the space around them. Bonfires also feature in many traditions on the eve of Holi, with meanings that include renewal and the triumph of good over evil.
The Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art offers a more personal glimpse through a photographer’s account of a Holi celebration in Jodhpur. Its description of musicians, dancers, powder and coloured water shows how much is happening beyond the familiar cloud-of-colour image.
What we wanted the design to hold
The POOR FORM Holi artwork is about people within the colour: expressions, gestures and the energy of a shared moment. It is designed to read as one vivid back print from a distance, then reveal smaller details as you move closer.
Keeping the front restrained gives the back artwork room to do that work. The first impression is colour and composition; the closer view is about the people within it. That is how we want the piece to be discovered.
Within Curated Curiosity, Holi sits beside two very different subjects: an early motion-picture record and a message carried into space. The connection is the invitation to notice something, then find out more.
The Holi tee combines a large back print with the restrained PF chest identifier, on a relaxed-fit, garment-dyed cotton T-shirt. Its product page includes the available options and a garment size guide.
Explore the Holi tee or browse Curated Curiosity — Chapter One.
Keep looking
Read the stories behind the Voyager Golden Record and Fred Ott’s sneeze.