Something old, something new - Crop-Over costumes 2011

Crop-Over is coming islandistas and despite being in hibernation for the last few months (between my wedding late last year and now my first pregnancy happening back-to-back, I've been ex-hausted!), that is enough to bring the Islandista out of her cyber-cave!

So Power x Four is both the old and new of this post - pics of their 2011 costumes have popped up on Trinidad Carnival Diary but... it's a rehash of last year - Bajan Reef Pt II no less! Booo, hisss!

I guess you can say they prepped us by calling last year's presentation Bajan Reef Pt I but come onnn. It's not as if this is some great, conceptual costume story that needs to be told over the course of two years - it is pretty-colour FISH dammit!

It feels lazy from Power X Four and though they have been my preferred band for jumping for the vast majority of years I've jumped Crop-Over, I gotta call it as I see it. It smacks of what they did in their 10th anniversary year in 2004 when they recreated costumes from their previous years.

That said, the costumes are pretty  - Px4 is always consistent in its quality and beauty. We especially like Night Octopus and Queen Conch.











Now for the NEW new! A certain Crop-Over band is recreating its image and is coming out fresh in 2011 as Fantasy and the costumes we've seen thus far are gorgeous! They are really going to make a stir on the scene for this Crop-Over and give Baje, Px4 and Contact a run for their money. Check out some of our faves from Fantasy below.






So what do you think, islandistas? Getting excited yet?

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Baje & Power X 4 unveil their costumes

They're baaaaack!

Barbados' two biggest bands, Baje International and Power X Four both unveiled their costumes on Friday in different ways.

Power X Four sent an e-newsletter to their mailing list with a 'sneak peek' of their costumes while Baje International had their official media launch at Red Rock at the end of the Gap.

Here is a look at some of our favourite sections from each band. Px4's presentation this year is entitled '15 years of Love & Revelery' while Baje is 'Fire & Ice'.


 



[caption id="attachment_1105" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Power X 4 - Blue Skies"][/caption]

 



Love, love the sky blue colour for this  and the bra piece is just gorgeous and lavishly decorated! Check out more costumes when you read on.




 



[caption id="attachment_1106" align="aligncenter" width="199" caption="Baje International - Singapore Sling"][/caption]

 This is actually my favourite costume out of all of the Baje selections this year, most of which are a 'unhh' beneath BD$500. Mystifyingly, this is actually the cheapest section, at 'just' BD$465! Go figure. Yet the singularly unimpressive titular costume Fire & Ice is $499!



[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Power X Four - Bajan Goddess"][/caption]

Again, loving this pastel pink colour because it is a departure from the colours Px4 usually goes with unlike their 'Energy' section for example which is barely a variation on the standard gold and yellow costume they trot out each year.


 



[caption id="attachment_1108" align="aligncenter" width="199" caption="Baje International - Tequila Sunrise"][/caption]

 



This costume shows Baje trying to stretch their range a leeetle bit. I like the feathered detailing on the waistband - a departure from using just beads on the waist piece and the headband with a burst of feathers off to the side for the headpiece. Sweet.

Now, for a little suss and speculation!

Bajan islandistas would know that Power X Four does not usually present its costumes before Baje - I always got the impression there was some tacit agreement between the two so that revellers were basically compelled to commit to one or the other because they both tended to sell out so quickly there was no time to wait and decide between the two.

However, this year they have jumped the gun and started holding early registration since Friday... the exact same day that Baje was launching. This is despite the fact that their official launch is supposed to be on June 20th. Their explanation for the early 'sneak peek'?

Crop Over fever is in the air, and we can tell by the numerous calls and emails that you are ready and rearing to select your costume for the big day. We are also aware that due to a number of regular bands sitting out of Crop-Over this year, the demand for spaces will be even greater. For this reason, we are giving our faithfuls an exclusive sneak peek at our 2009 presentation.

Mm. hmmmmmm! The recession is real, peoples! I keep telling yuh. Tings brown, Contact costumes are a flat cost across the board and at are generally $100 less than Baje's confirmed and Px4's rumoured price points so every man gotta brek fuh heself.

I don't mind! It is about time these band leaders have to scramble a bit for our support rather than people calling and begging and pleading to get costumes held for them.

Now on to Baje. As we reported earlier, Baje will not be holding its usual round of paid weekly fetes, including its themed fetes like Girl Power. This year they are holding a series of FREE limes at Red Rock Bistro and Bar or as they term it "5 hot recession ready free summer limes".

They will only be holding three main events - their big soca show Collision, their paint/Jouvert fete and a last lap rave.

Wow.

Honestly, I think Baje's problem is the big, wukking-up elephant in the room that will be at Tim's on the Highway from next Friday. A little huge thing called Brewster's Road. Friday's used to belong to Baje but Brewster's Road went up against them boldly and slaughtered them last year.

Honestly, I think there would be no shame in Baje shifting to like a Thursday or Wednesday night or even switch to the Sunday night slot that Campus Boyz' demise has left open.

Between Brewster's Road and Contact's pork limes on Fridays, it is just looking sticky for Baje or anyone else for that matter, to pull a big crowd, even with a free event.

But we shall see. It is certainly gearing up to be an interesting Crop-Over.

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Baje & Power X 4 unveil their costumes

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More costume bands from NYC to Bim

Week by week, Barbados' Crop-Over festival is heating up with more bands launching.

Small and mid-size bands such as Wednesday 2000, Jump and Ooutraje have all launched recently.

Our initial reaction to Wednesday 2000 was ... mehhhh. A lot of the costumes just were not cutting it, like these two selections below.




What's going on here? Did they spend all the money on the (admittedly nice) headpiece and just decide to forget about getting a waistpiece or decent leg bands or some appliques or someting to take de shame off the gold lame sports bra?




This costume also did not really do it for us. We get that it's supposed to be a colour splash hence all the different colours in the headpiece and in the appliques on the bra but it looks like federation. I actually prefer the guy's outfit. At least they bothered to get a waistband for this one though.

Some of the other costumes however were less mehhh. They did not make us swoon with excitement but they were wearable.







Now lest you think that we here at islandista are just philistines who adhere strictly to the 'bikini and beads' philosophy, that is not entirely true... not entirely! For instance, we are fans of the work done by small band Ooutraje which manages to span the gap between artistry and sexiness.

Their 2009 presentation, In the Beginning, is no different. The costumes are for the most part sexy and wearable yet they also actually (shock!) depict a theme - the beginnings of Barbados.

[caption id="attachment_1075" align="aligncenter" width="257" caption="Africans"][/caption]

While there are some elements that would give us pause in our quest for ultra-sexiness on the road, such as the jar/water vessel as the headpiece and the chains, we can see and appreciate where they are going with this and why. At least they are committed to the theme. I wonder if the face painting will be included too? That would make for a great stage presentation!




 



[caption id="attachment_1076" align="aligncenter" width="257" caption="Arawaks"][/caption]

 



We also really liked their Arawaks costume and this is actually less out there than the Africans costume. I also really, really like the costumes they have for the fellas. Too often a lot of the bands just give them a boxer shorts and some leg and arm bands and leave it at that. For the amount they have to pay, they deserve the full works too!


 



[caption id="attachment_1077" align="aligncenter" width="450" caption="Jump Promotions 2009 presentation 'Sweet for Days'."][/caption]

 



Jump has also launched (costumes above) and their prices are some of the best out for Crop-Over, especially considering that a lot of their costumes are quite decent and you still get the same perks as other bands - food, drinks, wee-wee truck etc.

Further afield, Ramajay mas launched their presentation for the 2009 Labour Day carnival in New York City.  The interesting thing I found about a lot of their costumes was that while they were not strong on some of the things we expect on our costumes like intricate and fully beaded waistbands in some instances or dramatic feathered headpieces in others, they had all these fascinating other details like spectacular backpacks (Rain and Green Jasper) or billowing wing-like arm pieces/capes (D'Amazons, directly below).  Check it.




 



[caption id="attachment_1078" align="aligncenter" width="257" caption="D'Amazons by Carnival Divaz"][/caption]

 



[caption id="attachment_1080" align="aligncenter" width="315" caption="Rain by Team BG"][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_1079" align="aligncenter" width="257" caption="Green Jasper by Fatal Angels"][/caption]

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Carnival Costume Review I - Island People

Ok, ok you might say the point is moot since all but one section (Sonia Mack's Paradisius) is sold out but I beg to differ. If you know the right strings to pull or the right sites to check, you can still get your costumes this close to Carnival.

To be honest, I am not overwhelmed by IP's presentation this year. The costumes are beautiful yes, but there is no real wow factor. For example, Carnival Tribe's 2007 presentation 'Old Time Someting' had that wow factor as I have discussed previously. Their 2009 presentation, Birds of a Feather is fantastic too - beautiful but actually depicting something. Full disclosure - Ihave a weakness/bias for costumes with lots of feathers  and big wing-like arm-pieces, which is probably why I love Tribe's presentation this year.

So now that you know that, it should come as no surprise that my favourite costume from IP's presentation is the hot-pink Touch costume.

[caption id="attachment_509" align="aligncenter" width="150" caption="Photo credit: islandpeoplemas.com"][/caption]

 

Featherrrrrrrrrrs! Purrrrty! I LAV it! I'm also pretty partial to their Midnight Bloom section.

[caption id="attachment_510" align="aligncenter" width="150" caption="Photo credit: islandpeoplemas.com"][/caption]

One costume that I am NOT impressed by is Afrodisiac. US$550 for this?! There is not enough all-inclusive food and drink to make me pay that much for such an ordinary-looking costume. There was so much more that could have been done with this theme.



The thing at the top leads to a teeny little burst of feathers. Mehhh. Dey even skimping on de beads. Booo!

On the other hand, we love the costume Dream. Yes, they have a big, feathered head-piece but the feathers are done in a way that is so ethereal and wispy that it really does seem dream-like.




That is it for now - obviously that is just a sample of IP's costumes and you can check out the rest at their site www.islandpeoplemas.com. Look out for more Carnival costume reviews in the coming weeks.

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Artistry vs. sexy - the mas dilemma

Beautiful ... but artistic?


(photo credit: Baje International)

It is getting close to the summer Carnival season in the Caribbean and its diaspora. In the next few months, St. Vincent, St.Lucia, Barbados, Antigua, Grenada, Toronto, London and New York will all hold carnivals (whew!)

Which brings the modern reveller to the eternal dilemma - do they choose artistry - the band leaders that will actually try to depict a theme and take time over creating costumes that will represent that theme?

Or do they choose sexiness - the band leaders of the most popular, thousands-strong bands who will glam up their bikinis with the most gorgeous and expensive beads, appliques and feathers but whose dedication to a theme extends only as far as to come up with some kind of name to go with the different sections that are defined almost solely by their colour.

To be honest, I cannot remember the theme that was depicted in the last several carnivals I jumped in - not in Barbados, nor in Trinidad. I remember the colours of each costume but not the theme the colours were supposedly depicting.

Take for instance, Barbados' Cable & Wireless Contact - one of the first major bands to launch in that island for the Crop-Over festival. The costumes are gorgeous and the entertainment on the road is going to be fantastic - Machel and Krosfyah. But what do the costumes with vague names like Radiance and Sensuous and Sassy and Virtuous really mean? What is the connection to the particular colour choices and so on?

As someone who appreciates West Indian culture and the specific artistry of the Carnival tradition it's bothering to me that I'm part of the bikinis and beads brigade that may well be stifling the life out of the true mas.

For this reason, some designers like Trinidad's Brian McFarlane have turned away from the bikinis and beads trend in recent years and gone in for more dramatic depictions like his 2005 Carnival presentation 'The Washing' (pictured below).



But ... the thing about costumes that are artistic is that they are often... well, a lot of cloth. Who wants to be covered up on Carnival/Crop-Over/Caribana/Labour Day? It's about freeing up and 'playing yuhself' as  Trinis would like to say.

When I see McFarlane's costumes on the road when I was playing mas in Trinidad I am awestruck - this I thought, was true 'high mas'. But in the boiling humidity, I was glad to be just be observing such costumes, not wearing them. Besides, my bikinis and beads were sexy!

I keep thinking there must be some happy medium. There must be out there costumes that satisfy my artistic conscience and my desire to be sexy and have minimal cloth to carry around on the road.

There are some bands that I find have done so in recent years, though none yet in my homeland unfortunately - it seems to be a straight toss-up between true artistry and sexiness here. You get either or, but not both.

However, one band I find has been pretty good with this has been Trinidad's Carnival Tribe. Their 2007 presentation 'Ole Time Someting Come Back Again' was great in my estimation. The outfits were sexy yet they had a true voice and you could see what they were depicting. Yet it was not over the top or cheesy with the depictions of old time mas characters like the Red Indian, Pierrot Grenade, Fancy Sailor and the  Midnight Robber.

Take a look.






I thought it was a pretty heartening sign. I was kind of disappointed when the next year they went back to gorgeous costumes that didn't really mean anything or attempt to depict anything. Like this one from their 2008 presentation Myths and Magic, which was called Mystique.



Don't get me wrong. I'm not knocking modern day bandleaders for what they do ... or at least, I'm trying not to knock them too hard. It would be hypocritical of me because I do jump in their bands every year and I know it's just business. I have spoken with them and they get it - many of them came up in the carnival tradition, used to be active members of bands where they would actually help make their own costumes, enjyoing the camraderie and the smell of hot glue in the mas camps. But they are also businessmen and women and Carnival is a huge business nowadays.

I just wish that more bandleaders would find that happy medium that Tribe found in 07. I think it can be done. What says you islandistas?

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