FARA silk scarves are a travel journal – a diary of the sights, sounds and symbols that we have experienced on our travels around India. These symbols are sacred codes – conscious reminders that help us navigate both our inner journey and the world around us. We use these symbols to illustrate how our scarves inspire grace, empowerment, strength, transformation and protection.
Our iconic Tiger Scarf fuses the tiger and the lotus, which are at the heart of Indian and Hindu mythology, symbolizing the masculine and feminine, strength and grace, power and inner wisdom. Inspired by both myth and magic, we were moved by the symbology of the tiger through the story of the Goddess Durga who rides a tiger. The tiger embodies her empowered and embodied self; while the lotus holds Goddess Lakshmi representing abundance and presence. The intricate illustrations that lace behind the tiger and lotus imagery were inspired by our visit to the Taj Mahal, a symbol of entwined and eternal love.
The Serpent Scarf is evocative of our inner journey – a reminder of our ability to change – the serpent represents rebirth, shape-shifting and transformation. Around this image we incorporated the ancient Tantrik Chakra symbols – a guide to our inner landscape and a map of self. The border of the scarf is inspired by the tribal beadwork necklaces from Nagaland in the Northeast of India.
So often our scarves symbolize both an inner journey and a moment in time. These memories are captured in pieces like our Peacock Scarf which could be subtitled ‘Once Upon A Time In The Desert’ . We saw many peacocks fly home to roost as the dusky blue sky melted into the rolling Aravalli Hills. The peacock is also about coming home to ourselves – trusting ourselves, our creativity, our self expression to find purpose. Peacocks are a symbol of the rain God Hindra, whose waters bring life to Earth and wash away the limiting beliefs that we hold onto. Within this scarf you’ll find the protective talisman of the Hamsa hand (a coiled rope symbolising eternity) and a background design inspired by the architecture of the Amber Fort, high in the hills above Jaipur.
And back to the beginning of the cycle, the moment of our transformation into the world of FARA…our first scarf, the Varanasi Scarf, transports us back to the sacred river goddess of the Ganges. The city of Varanasi is older than time, and for us, this scarf is about finding our rhythm, our deeper connection to each other, Mother Earth and ourselves.
Each scarf is a FARA travelogue, a design memory shared to capture the imagination of travel and exploring the landscape within. Our scarves are a love letter to the places and people of India… and a love letter to ourselves.
