When you hear talk about traditional bikini and beads costume designers stepping it up a notch to go "out of the box" for Carnival 2011, as a masquerader one has to wonder what do these designers have in store for us?
As quiet as the lead up to Carnival 2011 band launches is at the moment, there is a buzz that I am hearing, and it is all about doing costumes that go beyond a bra top and belt.... interesting!
"Different" is the new Carnival buzz word and I have to tell you I am dying to see just how "different" is different. I guess when you have every Carnival between here and the North American continent producing the same generic beaded belt and bra it is time to set Trinidad Carnival apart from the others !
The one thing I am curious to know, however, is as masqueraders how far out the box are you willing to go? As much as we do ask for something apart from feathers or sequins or beads the fact is when you are presented with an alternative (like Island People's Kutchela) it can be a hard sell as our perception of pretty mas, is pretty much standard fare.
I am throwing it out to you for some feedback since I firmly believe masqueraders do not have to be a professional designer to know what we like! After all we are the customers and the customer is always right, not so? So, here are the questions you can answer one, some or all, just give your opinions, thoughts or commentary.
When you think about costumes that are "out of the box" what comes to mind ? Are you in favor of costumes that are different or are you on the BBF (bikini, beads and feathers) bandwagon? What elements of a costume MUST you have for it to be appealing to you ( eg feathers, large headpiece, beaded bra top etc) and if you had to do a costume that was not run of the mill what would it look like?
Leave me a comment!
