pharrell & adidas originals launch a wholly holi collection
Pharrell Williams and adidas Originals follow up on their collaborative line, Hu, with not one, not two, but three new collections.
A short for “human,” the Hu line is characterized by its design, which is inspired by different cultures around the world. For the three new collections, Pharrell and adidas journeyed to northern India and took inspiration from the Hindu festival of Holi.
You’re probably already familiar with Holi, which is also known as the festival of colors. Every year during Holi, the people of India would smear each other with colored powder to welcome the arrival of spring. Joined by people of all backgrounds, Holi also signifies equality, which is the very thing that Hu stands for.
“The idea of playing with colors bring people together, putting aside caste, creed. And all we know is that we have one color running through our veins,” explains one of the locals that is featured on the campaign video. Filmed in India, the video also stars model Urvashi Umrao as well as the men and women who create the powder used at the festival.
The first collection, named Blank Canvas, is already available since late February, and consists of track tops and sneakers in white.
While white-colored Blank Canvas is made to symbolize peace and equality, the last two collections, Powder Dye and Adicolor, are all about celebrations and splashes of colors. The brand has applied the revolutionary powder-dyeing technique to create a colored-powder-like effect in the apparel pieces and sneakers, which make the wearers look as if they have just barely survived a rather intense Holi celebration.
The Powder Dye and Adicolor collections will be released globally on March 16.
Images c/o adidas