Beyond borders; Kerala kasavu finds new worlds this Onam

With its ivory body and gold border, kasavu saree has always been the perfect Onam wear. This year, breathable handloom cottons, fluid silhouettes and easy-to-wear styles vie for attention alongside the traditional saree and set mundu.

At the same time, designers are looking beyond the garment itself, drawing inspiration from flowers, agricultural landscapes, handloom traditions, memories and Kerala's cultural imagery. The result is not a departure from tradition, but its broader interpretation.

The saree remains a staple, but it is increasingly being accompanied by co-ord sets, A-line dresses, corset blouses, pattupaavadas and contemporary interpretations of the dhavani and set mundu.

Much of this shift is driven by fabric. Mul cotton and other lightweight handloom cottons continue to dominate, offering the breathability and fluidity needed for Kerala's warm and humid weather while retaining the texture and character associated with handloom.

The idea seems to be moving away from festive dressing that demands constant adjustment towards clothing that allows movement. The change is also visible in how traditional garments are styled. Rather than treating handloom as something reserved for conventional silhouettes, designers are pairing it with contemporary cuts and separates, making festive dressing more versatile and easier to wear beyond the single day of Thiruvonam.

Flowers beyond pookalam
Floral motifs have become softer and more organic this Onam. Hand-painted flowers, delicate embroidery and motifs inspired by Kerala's own flora have replaced some of the heavier ornamental treatments. Thechi, shankhpushpam and flowers associated with the dashapushpam offer designers a distinctly local vocabulary.

Pranaah by Poornima's Onam collection takes this connection literally, looking towards the flower markets that become an integral part of the season's preparations. Its palette moves through soft pinks, peaches, yellows, reds and oranges, capturing the abundance of the market without overwhelming the clothes. The collection also turns its gaze towards the women who sell flowers and the toil behind the celebration.

“More than a celebration of flowers, the collection is an ode to work, colour and community. It reflects our commitment to finding beauty in cultural memory and everyday life,” said the Pranaah team.

Checks enter kasavu palette
While florals remain a familiar part of festive dressing, a newer and more graphic trend is making its presence felt this season: checks. Madras and Chettinad checks are appearing on saree borders, skirts, blouses and set mundus, introducing a stronger geometric quality into a wardrobe traditionally dominated by solid ivory and gold.

Turmerik by Nivethitha Sanjay's 'Threads Across Borders' explores this idea through the textile relationship between Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The collection draws from Kerala kasavu and the handloom traditions of Kongu Nadu, bringing together influences from the textile centres of Coimbatore, Erode, Pollachi, Udumalpet, Mettupalayam and Dindigul.

The use of Chettinad checks with the set mundu is particularly striking, creating a visual contrast between the familiarity of the garment and the graphic quality of the pattern. Larger borders and ethnic colours push the look further towards maximalism.

“I have lived my early life in Tamil Nadu and now in Kerala. I know both the cultures deeply, and so we decided to fuse the two traditions of handloom and work on maximalism,” Nivethitha Sanjay told Onmanorama.

Kerala landscape finds its way into fashion
Perhaps the most interesting shift this season is the way Kerala's landscape itself is finding its way into fashion. Instead of using culture merely as surface decoration, designers are drawing from the land, the monsoon, agriculture and the memories associated with them.

For Rouka by Sreejith Jeevan, that landscape begins with the first light after the rains. The collection 'Pulari', for Onam and beyond - named after the idea of sunrise and celebrating sunshine, hope and a sense of belonging - looks towards the feeling of renewal and freshness that follows the hardships of the monsoon.

The collection brings this mood into sarees, easy tropical clothing and contemporary interpretations of the mundu, set mundu and neriyathu. The emphasis is less on elaborate embellishment and more on capturing a feeling - the freshness of a new morning and the familiarity of a Kerala landscape after the rains.

“Onam, for me, has always been a celebration of renewal, of freshness, prosperity and starting afresh. After a season of rain, there is something beautiful about welcoming the first light,” said Sreejith Jeevan.

A similar return to the land takes a more earthy direction in Bhoomi by Ahalya's 'Mannu'. As a brand that intentionally steps away from fast-moving fashion trends, the collection centres itself around resistance, resilience, belonging and agrarian pride.

Its four collections - Mannu, Ponnuvilayana Mannu, Kothumbu and Pennu, draw from the soil, cultivation and the people whose labour sustains agricultural life. Green represents cultivation, brown evokes the earth and gold reflects abundance.

In the Pennu saree, an off-white kora cotton blouse carries Malayalam words associated with agriculture through brown machine embroidery. Elsewhere, hand-painted motifs inspired by the dried sheath of the coconut tree bring another familiar element of the Keralan landscape into the wardrobe.

The collection also features a 'Kalam' series, where the increasingly popular Madras check is paired with off-white fabric in shirts and kurtis.

“We, as a brand, intentionally move away from fast-paced trends, and with the collections this year, we revisit the histories, not as nostalgia but as remembrance. Because the soil remembers what history often forgets,” Ahalya said.

Together, the two collections approach the Kerala landscape from different directions. One looks at the sky after the monsoon and Keralan landscapes, while the other looks down at the soil beneath our feet.

Taking Malayali culture beyond traditional wear
There is also a growing desire to take distinctly Malayali visual language beyond the conventional festive wardrobe.

MyDesignation approaches this through prints, bold designs and recognisable cultural imagery. Instead of limiting Onam references to the saree or set mundu, the label brings Vallamkali, Theyyam, Kathakali and other familiar elements of Kerala's visual culture into contemporary clothing.

The Onam Cultural Shirt, with its orange base and Kerala-inspired motifs, translates the festival into more casual wear. The Vallamkali Embroidered Shirt brings the energy of Kerala's boat races into festive dressing through zari embroidery, while Kerala-inspired checks and Onam-related icons appear on 100% cotton fabric used for shirts and sarees.

A mural-panel shirt inspired by Theyyam and Kathakali pushes the idea further, using the state's performance traditions as a visual vocabulary. The intention is not simply nostalgia. It is about making these symbols wearable in a way that can travel beyond Kerala.

“As a brand rooted in Kerala, our vision is to expand the cultural identity globally to diverse audiences, and the scale allows us to produce collections in large quantities, sometimes close to 50,000 pieces,” Vishal of MyDesignation said.

Even the brand's Onakkodi Box, a customisable festive gift hamper, extends this visual language beyond clothing and into the culture of Onam gifting.

In short, what emerges across this year's Onam collections is not one single trend, but a change in the way designers are looking at tradition.