Red Tiger – "Where is the rest of the costume?" were my thoughts when I saw the model in what looks like nothing but a sequined bra, two strips of fabric and a good bikini wax!! Hands down the most scandalous costume from the presentation, from my point of view, and I honestly think it needs something additional to take away from the obvious fact that as is it is not practical for the road. Hopefully this version was purely to stir the crowd and another, more functional costume will appear as option B. The male costume is one of my favourites, who knew feathers on a man could look so masculine as well as tribal. As one of the few costumes of colour, the red gold and orange is especially attractive.
Kingfisher Bird – Love the aquamarine and gold combination and the massive headpiece that is featured with the winged version of this costume. I actually like that the ornamentation on the headpiece looks like both a bird’s beak and a crown. The cage bra is optional, and this year looks as if it is more of a nipple bra as the stones and jewels barely cover the areola! I love the detail of the necklace which forms body jewelry hooking unto the skimpy belt. This costume is NOT for anyone who has not been a slave to the gym for the past year and has the body of perfection. It is also comforting to see that a regular bra option is offered for those loving the costume but not the nudity of the cage bra. I absolutely LOVE the backpack for the frontline which looks like wings. Again the theme extends to the male with his beak headpiece and necklace in lieu of a chest piece; cool touch which I am sure will be appreciated by all the meterosexual men.
Dragon Lizard – I must confess I do not like the colour combination on this costume; however I love the fact that you can look at it and immediately guess “Komodo Dragon”. The eyes on the headpiece, feathered collar that actually looks like the reptile and sequined bodysuit fit the theme of the costume to perfection. Both the frontline and collar option of this costume are well done. My issue is with the backline with the small headpiece that looks incomplete standing next to its counterparts. Some added beads perhaps, or a bigger headpiece for the backline.
Polar Bear/Brown Bear – Not liking either version. When I first heard there was a bear section I envisioned that the headpiece would be this massive detailed piece of art, something akin to what was done for the male Lion costume, with a bear face and downy feathers forming a huge crown of a headpiece. I was not expecting a dominatrix leather, fur and jewel encrusted ensemble. The white version is slightly better but still, I do not like all the “fur” as I get hot just looking at the costume. It must be noted that for the men this section looks pretty cool.
Black Widow Spider – The first costume I laid eyes on and it made a huge impression. The frontline or individual pieces (not sure which is which) are just amazingly detailed, cleverly unique in design and actually looks like what it is called. The caped costume with silver web design, is striking; love the cape, love the collar even love the headpiece and arm/foot pieces. As for the netted body suit costume with the black and white boa spider legged back pack, LOVE IT, though the model went straight to a fan when she came off stage. It is literally and figuratively a HOT costume. The backline costumes are sweet with the spider legs that are attached to the back of the costume, I like that the bra and belt are silver and not black as I think the section already has a lot of black and the silver enhances the costume. I like the male costume with the collar that matches the female frontline.
Great Egret – There are two frontline looking pieces for this costume, I like them both, I mean they are white have lots of feathers and beads, what is not to love. The winged frontline is beautiful, but is not too outstanding in photographs, maybe because it is all white. Personally I prefer the option with the massive headpiece though the front of the belt piece with the appliqué and beads falling from it remind me a lot of the belt of Silver Mist (from TRIBE). Now the backline costume…..I do not like it at all. I get the idea that we are going for something delicate and feminine but the caplet and skirt just look so odd next to the other options. I also think the bra reminds me too much of Goddess and Defenders for some reason. I would have thought that the backline could have had the same bra and belt of the frontline version with a smaller headpiece. I love the accessories though!
Portuguese Man O War – At first glance I did not like this section initially, something about the headpiece bothered me and I thought the jewels on the bra and belt were too reminiscent of Jewel of the Nile from 2007. However, the more I look at the details on this costume the more I like it and it is now among one of my favourites. I especially like that it is a costume of colour and that they chose to go with brights instead of pastels, I also like the twirly fabric pieces falling from the arms, headpiece and belt. I think the frontline is lovely; different from the feathered "Brazilianesque" frontlines with all that fabric. I love the frontline headpiece which has a nice complement of feathers; still think the backline’s is somewhat unflattering with all that blue crushed looking fabric coming too far down on the forehead. This is the only male costume I do not care for, I think it looks too generic especially compared to the other male costumes in the band.
Lion and Lioness – I am glad they added extra feathers to the backline headpiece for the launch and I know most people miss the details in the headpiece that actually looks like a lion’s face and which I think is pretty cool. However, this costume is just a bit too bronze for me, I played in bronze once and on me it just blends in with the complexion. I also do not like the ribbon pieces on the belt at all, it looks too flimsy. While the frontline headpiece is fabulous, the model who wore it on the night of the launch had a difficult time keeping it on her head and could be seen holding it in place from time to time. The Lion costume is fierce, one that I think captures the theme well; if I were a male this would be one of my picks.
Silver Fox – GORGEOUS costume; both the frontline and backline are very well done. I am so in love with the frontline headpiece, and the beading used on the bra and belt. Though the belt is skimpy I like the design with the triangular pieces falling on the side of the hips. This is Crystal Amming’s section and she never fails to deliver a costume design that I love; last year it was Nubians and in the inaugural year it was Pride! I also think that this is one of the few backlines that looks complete and not like they skimped on the costume, putting the most effort into the frontlines. I am guessing the corset version is for ladies who want some more coverage; in that one I like the addition of grey boas to the headpiece. I like the fox tails on the male costume too.
Cheetah – Another costume I am surprised I like as it did nothing for me in the previews. On the night of the launch when I saw it backstage the models looked quite adorable in it. I think it is a young fun costume, I mean who does not like the tail, and it not flat animal print used in the bra and belt but a self patterned sequined fabric and matching beads. The headpiece I personally think should be offered as an option to those wanting something smaller, but a larger headpiece would take this costume from being “cute” and “young” to smoking hot. The frontline is ok, I like all the animal print and feathers and it looked quite pretty in person, I just think it does not look like a cheetah but something African. Male cheetah is my favourite costume, I like the intricacies of the chest piece and all the primal looking animal print used on the belt and arms and legs.
Zebra – LOVE the frontline, I don’t care who thinks the headpiece should be fuller I think it is perfect as is; it looks like a Zebra’s mane. The backline is lovely too, and looks complete, but the style of the bra and belt looks a bit like Sacred Sand in black and white, not that anything is wrong with that as I liked Sacred Sand and the fit was quite flattering on all body types. The male costume is awesome! I am just psyched to see my favourite colours of black and white in a costume done right.
Crocodile – This one reminds me of Cacti and I have the same feelings towards it as that costume; I do not like it at all! To its credit it does look reptilian with that shell used all over the costume, but it is not attractive to me. The headpiece looks like they stopped short in the design, looks unfinished. Albeit I think the male costume is great and love that it uses some colour!
Being able to see the costumes up close certainly adds to the fact that I may have a different view from others only looking at them in photographs. I thought some sections did not translate as well in print as they did in person. On the whole I think the frontlines give the “WOW” effect as they were certainly well executed but the majority of backline costumes look too sparse with very little beads or feathers, it would help if they are enhanced more as not everyone can or is willing to play in a frontline costume yet one still expects that the backline should be just as appealing. There is very little colour in the overall presentation with shades of tan/brown, white and black being the primary colours used in seven sections. And as for the skimpiness of some of the costumes, animalistic is not supposed to look elegant or whimsically pretty in my opinion; it should be raw, edgy and primeval in design and many of the costumes do fit that standard. I appreciate the designers’ creativity and “thinking outside the box” approach to the costumes, though there are those who fall in either the love it or leave it camp. Overall it is great that each band which has launched so far offers something different so that we as masqueraders have choices, and at the end of the day that is a great thing!
