Samantha Quadros

samantha.quadros@nift.ac.in

Navratri celebrated throughout Gujarat is famed for its rich cultural heritage and symphony of colours.

It provides designers with an abundant source of inspiration. This nine-day festival honoring Goddess Durga’s nine incarnations—each represented by a unique colour—offers a complex story that combines spirituality with artistic beauty. Navratri’s colourful palette and cultural essence provide a fascinating framework for creative expression in a variety of fields, including fashion, interior design, graphic design, and product creation.

The festival of colours during Navratri is more than just a visual treat. For designers, these colours offer an inexhaustible stream of inspiration, where every tint tells a narrative and elicits emotions. Royal Blue, a symbol of Shailaputri, is serene and calm at the start of the festival. This colour can be utilized in design to evoke peace and confidence. Royal Blue is great option for minimalist and serene aesthetics since it promotes clarity and balance in both branding and interior design. Adding an energising and cerebral character to design, yellow symbolises wisdom and knowledge through Brahmacharini. It stimulates imagination and vitality and is frequently used in packaging, UI design, and fashion collections to suggest warmth and optimism.

Through Chandraghanta, green serves as a reminder of our interconnectedness with the environment and symbolizes the harmony of nature. Incorporating sustainable processes and eco-friendly materials is one way that designers may channel this, as the color itself encourages balance, growth, and rebirth. Kushmanda’s Grey symbolises equilibrium and neutrality. In terms of style, grey provides the ideal background that lets other colors pop while yet having a chic and contemporary look. This is very helpful in modern clothing and interior design, since color may produce classic style with a subtle grace.

Orange is the color of Skandamata adds zest and inventiveness, creating a strong and fun energy in design. This can be translated into colorful and dynamic business identities, statement pieces, or unique fashion collections. White, a color associated with purification and rebirth, represents Katyayani’s purity. White provides a blank canvas of design options with a simple, refined, and elegant style. It is frequently utilized in fashion for classic clothing.

Red embodies Kalaratri’s fierce strength. Red is frequently linked to intensity, bravery, and passion in design. Designers can utilize it to make bold statements, stir emotions, and drive action—whether in fashion, graphic design, or advertising. Mahakali’s Pink color symbolises protection and caring. Pink’s gentleness is a great fit for designs that try to be reassuring and approachable; these kinds of designs are frequently found in personal care items, children’s clothing, and wellness companies. Purple captures the spiritual enlightenment of Navami. This colour is a symbol of refinement, insight, and luxury. Its regal attributes can be used by designers to produce elegant, high-end fashion shows.

By pulling inspiration from Navratri’s rich cultural tapestry, designers can create pieces that resonate not only aesthetically but also emotionally and spiritually. The principle of Navratri is of balance, strength, unity, and enlightenment. This diversity can be weaved into every thread, line, and curve in any field of design, including fashion, architecture, graphics, and product design.

(The Author is Academic Scholar, Textile Design, National Institute of Fashion Technology)