Hey y'all! I'm Laura and I blog about all things styling, fitness, and Trini living over at
Adventures in Tralaland, and I served as Saucy's eyes last night at the Spice 2011 Signature Collection band launch.
I arrived at Zen nice and early to snag myself a good spot, settled in with a drink, and waited. When the lights went down around 10, we were serenaded by a great classical quartet—plugged in and sounding pretty fierce and definitely complementing the "classy things in life" vibes that the theme promised. The playing came to an end, the lights went back on slowly, and out came… (in order):
Walk of Fame (red):
I'm liking the large red stones (I played Rubies of Mumbai last year, so no surprise). There are just two colors of stone, which keep this really sharp and clean. I don't usually go for white and red, but I think the headpiece pulls it off with the touch of gold (and the forehead design on the frontline is really beautiful and well complemented by the shoulder feather detailing). My only slight quibble is that the stone arrangement on the belt looks like Rubies last year. As for the males… Well, let's hope the next one does better.
Haute Couture (greys/golds)
Oh my… Beautiful!! I love the tassel detailing on the backline and frontline; the backline really doesn't look any less gorgeous. This is the first grey costume I've ever seen that I love. Swirls in the backline bra, that intricate chain attaching from the bra to the belt, and the contrast of colors make this one pop. Beautiful headpiece (lots of big embellished stone among the feathers) and leg/arm bands. As for the males, I'm liking the necklace and the feathers on the headpiece. I would totally approve of my man in this one (good thing—he likes it too).
Tres Chic:
That tinfoil silver is a great backdrop for the saturated pinks, greens, and violets. I loved the look in the media launch, and it didn't disappoint. I like that the difference between floor and frontline is mainly in the headpiece and leg/arm pieces—it's one of the few costumes where equal attention was paid to the backline model. As for the boys, nice and shiny as well, though I'm not sure why the board shorts are orange instead of pink.
Vogue:
I'm a sucker for peacock colors, so I'm loving this one and its color combo. The dark teal makes the gold and violet highlights pop and the belt detail will be really flattering for lady legs. Nice sway on all the headpiece options sway beautifully. The frontline options were outrageous; pretty, but the models were struggling to carry them around, which doesn't bode well for the road. As for the male, there's a nicely feathered headpiece and bold belt, but that chestpiece? Man bra. A bra on a man is not getting my vote. Spice, please redesign that contraption so that my man can rock some peacock feathers, please. No man wants to look like he's containing his moobs!
Carnival Vicuna:
Pretty color mix, very bright, and nicely detailed headpiece. I really like the mix of saturated pink and touch of orange here—very bright, with a well-detailed headpiece and a very pretty belt. However, I'm a bit stumped—it's a very similar shade of pink to Tres Chic, that headpiece is very Roman Empire from last year, and the striped bra detailing is very similar to some of the other costumes that came out. As for the male… Bleh.
Dupioni:
Ladies, we have us some purple! Some very pretty, very skimpy purple, with nice contrast in gold, amber, and light green detailing. I like the idea of it, but I wish there was more going on in the armband/legband department. I also understand that not everyone wants the weight of ten birds on their head, but that headpiece is TOO small—where did the rest of it go? As for the menfolk, I like the headband, but WHAT is the string around the chest? Did someone go fishing in their carnival costume and fall off the boat? Scissors, please and thank you, because that is sloppy-looking.
Peruvian Splendor:
Oh boy. IF Spice hadn't put out Wings of Isis last year, and IF Wings of Isis hadn't had the exact same shade of turquoise and the exact same gold trim (albeit in a different arrangement) and fabric hanging from the belt, I'd be ALL over this. But they DID put out Wings of Isis last year, and I can't look at it without thinking back to that costume. It's a shame, too, because this is a really beautiful costume (and I actually prefer the headpiece to the one from Wings) with unique detailing across the bra and belt. Male: meh. The necklace could be bigger.
Vines of Syrah:
I would sell half my belongings to get my hands on that frontline! The backpack feathers swish and contrast in shades, the bra piece attaches to the belt in an amazing, well-crafted gold swirl, and the headpiece jewels on the forehead are spot-on. The backline is beautiful, as well, and I'm glad to see the intricate detailing was carried through on this one, too.
Male: neat necklace, though again, I wish it were bigger.
Bordeaux Beauty:
Pretty detailing on the bra and belt; I really like the inverted V connecting them, and the wine pops against the nude shade. I think it would pop more if the wine shade were used more in the headpiece feathers—more contrast is always a good thing.
Male: I like the criss-cross thing going on with the necklace, but.. something's missing?
Tuscany Sunset:
Gorgeousness! The striped feathers, the large beads with the contrasting thin metalwork on the bra and belt, the asymmetric shoulders… LOVE. And the frontline is stunning, with that beautiful jeweled piece between the belt and the bra.
Males: nice necklace, but what's going on with the headpiece? It looks like an alien antenna, and I'm not sure if that's an entirely good thing.
Jubilee (silver)
Frontline—totally gorgeous. It really shines. The cage bra version is stunning (and tiny), and the monokini version works the mesh in beautifully with some unique armpieces, and the mesh option also features unusual leg pieces with feathers from knee to ankle. Backline? This reminds me of bad wedding gift lingerie. You need to work pretty hard to make a white costume look like more than basic-issue bra and panty, and this one didn't even try. A wire headpiece does not a carnival costume make. This was by far the worst costume at this launch, and possibly the worst I've ever seen from a big band (yes, even worse than Tribe's Serica last year). The designer either fell asleep or the dog ate their homework. I really hope this option gets scrapped, or that at least gets redesigned with some of the lovely detailing from both frontline options, because I do not want to see ANYONE wearing that misery of a so-called costume out on the road.
Male: I'm digging the white headpiece. Is it a bandanna or a fez?
Very nice detailing on the bra, which has a unique shape in the front, very geometric and fresh in the frontline and highly decorated in the floor model. Remember Thailand last year? So do I—because I'm looking at the same belt for frontline, which is nice, but I'd actually say I prefer the smaller belt on this one. The headpiece is bright yellow, but it pulls off the intensity—not a touch of Big Bird here! Very nice. My only slight quibble is that I wish the bra was the same shade as the headpiece.
Sha Jahaan
More pink? Yes. Pretty bra detailing, but I wish there was another color here. I also commend the designers on trying to go feather-free in the floor member, but I'm not digging the spiky headpiece, which I'd swear is the same as on the disaster that is Jubilee floor member. And I want those pink frontline butterfly wings returned to Victoria's Secret, please.
General:
Here's hoping some engineering goes into the headpiece designs so don't go flying this year—except for Rubies of Mumbai, last year was a sea of tilting headpieces. It didn't help matters that the models were really struggling with some of the frontline headpieces and backpacks (and even with some of the floor models)! I hope this gets resolved.
Men's costumes: I'm actually feeling sorry for Mr. Laura, who will wear whatever gets dished out because there isn't a SINGLE male option with any real effort put into it this year. Didn't last year's men in Rubies of Mumbai, Wings of Isis and Merchants of Venice show that sometimes a man DOES want more than board shorts? I was unimpressed and he was even more so. I know it's the same story every year… But it's still disappointing.
Frontline vs. floor: A LOT of detailing went into the frontlines, and they are breathtaking. However, that same detailing didn't translate into all of the floor costumes. In some cases, the only way you get a good idea of the theme and design of the floor member is by looking at it next to its corresponding frontline. I really wanted to play frontline last year but there was no reason to, because the floor numbers were stunning. This year, I want to play frontline because the floor members don't translate the vibe so well. That's not how it should be.
Models: very pretty, all, but very stiff! These are carnival costumes, folks! With feathers! That are meant to swing! It would have been helpful if the models had paused for three seconds at each pose to maximize the wow (and the photo ops)—some just sped off like their phones were ringing backstage. However, major props to the frontline model for Tuscany Sunset—she set that costume on FYAH!
The theme is still baffling. Yes, I get it in theory, but in practice it's just a way of having us some (very) pretty mas, because except for Jubilee Frontline and Bordeaux (which are very literal) I don't see how it comes together. Fine costumes, yes, but I'm not convinced it comes together as a theme, though kudos to the designers for trying to convey something a bit more ephemeral.
Also, I didn't like the fact the replicas from last year. Big red stones on both, the Peruvian Wings of Isis, the pink and orange of last year's Gates of Petra on a darker pink this time, similar belts for Canary and Thailand from last year… If the same colors are going to be used, a real effort needs to be made so we don't see what we see last year. More attentions should have been paid to this.
I know it sounds like I'm truly negative here, when in fact I do think that there are some beautiful costumes that will look good on the road. Apart from the disaster that is Jubilee floor member, there isn't a single one that doesn't have something to recommend it. However, nothing grabs my eye the way that so many of them did last year.
I played in Spice last year, when I would have done so on the basis of costumes alone, even if I hadn't heard anything else about the band, because those costumes rocked. This year, the decision to play in Spice would be based on my experience on the road last year rather than on the fact that I'd DIE if I didn't get to play in X costume. I don't feel the need to bring out my nails and stand in line to make sure I get THAT costume—and that's really disappointing.
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