WINSTON SILL/FREELANCE PHOTOGRAPHER
Bachannal Carnival costumes on display.Nathelie Taylor, Gleaner Writer
IT'S DEEMED to be the most wonderful time of the year - the Carnival season, that is. The colours, the music, the sights, the vibes, and of course, the people all combine to make carnival an unforgettable experience. It is something which thousands look forward to annually.
But, there is something extra special about the season the daringly sexy costumes.
Costumes are a great attraction in the much anticipated Carnival parade. And, each Friday night, at the Mas Camp, as sweat-drenched patrons jump, wave and gyrate with wild abandon to the sweet soca songs, they can also get a chance to not just see, but also purchase these skimpy creations.
Actually, for many, the blood-churning, waist-grinding, head-spinning thumps of soca can only be enjoyed when they are playing mas as part of a costumed group.
It's an interesting and tantalising mix actually one of a feeling of camaraderie when in a group with fellow masqueraders combined with the uninhibited pleasure of letting go and letting (almost) everything show in these 'barely there stitchings' of beads and feathers.
A costume's popularity depends on a number of factors, including design, colours, cost and sponsors. Of the six costumes being offered by Bacchanal Jamaica Imagination, Illusions, Caprice, Bizarre, Desire and Visions - Illusions and Desire have been selling like hot bread. However, Illusions, a blue and neon-green creation, is quite a crowd pleaser. Priced at a whopping $7,000, it is the most expensive costume, yet it is also the most popular with carnival fans and for a very practical reason, it seems.
Sponsored by Tampico, it offers more than the other costumes do. While most others are food and drink inclusive, Illusions offers premium access to one of the most exclusive, all-inclusive soca events around Frenchmen.
MEAL-INCLUSIVE
Desire is another fast-selling costume. This flaming red outfit is sponsored by the RJR Communications Group and actually costs $1,400 less than Illusions. This costume is meal-inclusive. Furthermore, Desire is endorsed by FAME FM and as such FAME FRAT members get approximately 10 per cent discount.
While the costs may seem daunting the cheapest costume is $3,000 one doesn't need to pay the full amount all at once. An initial downpayment of 50 per cent can be made and the final payment made upon receipt of the costume.
Shernette Scott is a hardcore reveller who has been playing mas for the past six years and has no intention of stopping any time soon. "I started in a T-shirt and tights 'cause I thought that that was the most modest thing to do, since I was just starting to play mass. Then I moved to a bikini then to a G-string," she says.
Shernette loves Carnival so much that, for the first time this year, she and a friend travelled to Trinidad to experience the magnificence of Carnival there. While she didn't play mas (the costume of her choice, the ever popular Poison, was sold out), Shernette still got an amazing eyeful of the sheer beauty of the costumed groups in the Port of Spain parade. "Their costumes are really beautiful and they have such a large range," she explained excitedly, as the memories rushed back. "They had sailors, animals, tropical birds, so many. But I think ours are modest in comparison to theirs. Like, the G-strings on the costumes only have like a string of beads to the back, while ours are more covered."
This 'modesty' is no hindrance to her, however, as this year she will be jumping in a costumed band in the Bacchanal Jamaica road parade. The price of the costume is also no problem.
THINK TWICE
With costumes ranging from a reasonable $3,000 (Visions) to the incredible $7,000 (Illusions), many would think twice about purchasing any of these. Not Shernette, who actually wanted to purchase the Poison costume for an unbelievable TT$1,500.00 (J$15,000). She insists that she and her friend, also a staunch reveller, will be purchasing their Poison costumes for 2006 Carnival in Trinidad from this year because they will not be missing out.
On the flip side, there are those revellers who want to enjoy the parade without the enormous costs involved. Thanks to companies like RJR, they can. Through their Affordable Costume Attires, commonly called ACAs, the RJR group has ensured that everyone can march as part of a costumed group on Carnival Sunday.
These costumes simple T-shirts and bottoms which are oftentimes creatively 'spruced' up by the reveller for the parade are free and usually distributed close to the road parade date. They are also quite popular. "People look forward to it. Our costumes are usually in bright, happy colours like yellow or red, so people really like them. Last year we catered for 500 costumes, but so many people came to collect costumes that we had to turn them away," says a source connected with RJR's Carnival activities.
Supreme Ventures, through its other sponsors Cable and Wireless, CVM TV and The Gleaner, is offering other affordable costumes for revellers who can't or are not willing to shell out the big bucks.
