Designing costumes for carnival Mas bands
About carnival Mas Bands
Mas bands are an essential part of carnival. They make exotic costumes and prepare dances around a theme. The three videos feature the Mahogany Mas Band who are a regular contributor to the Notting Hill Carnival established in 1989; the Genesis Mas Band, who have participated in the Notting Hill Carnival for over 28 years and the Dragons Mas Band whose theme in 2001 was Bacchanal.
Mahogany Mas Band
Some of the designs which we're using on the street originate from the show and it's something we've been trying to do: create a link between the carnival and the stage.
View transcript of video
We've been working with a company called Adzido, which is an African dance company, Ghanaian based mainly. They did a show called Yaa Asantewaa this year with us and we designed and made costumes. So some of the designs which we're using on the street originate from the show and it's something we've been trying to do, create a link between the carnival and the stage. So people that come to theatre remember and understand that carnival does have a theatrical, you know it's a theatrical thing. So if they come to see shows they would actually come to Notting Hill too for the same sort of drama that carnival can give. So important that the main characters should be something that you will remember, so when I'm designing I'm really thinking how I can find something to make people remember. 'Gosh did you see this one.' Because carnival, when you are designing, you're creating a sense of up-liftment. People should feel at the end of seeing the costume it should have taken their breath away in someway. So I'm hoping that people will en joy the band and enjoy the colours.
Genesis Mas Band
In Genesis we all do our own thing. We make costumes, we organise. Sew and wire. We do fibreglass, as you see what we're doing. The art of carnival is like what you see me doing here; getting things in my head and expressing it on these different costumes. Just ideas get to my head and I started. I already knew what I wanted to do and I decide to put other things onto my original design and that's the end product. My son is going to wear that, he's playing the king. The name of the theme that we're playing this year is millennium fireworks. The king actually is demonstrating how fireworks is done for the year 2001.
View transcript of video
In Genesis we all do our own thing. We make costumes, we organise. Sew and wire. We do fibreglass, as you see what we're doing. The art of carnival is like what you see me doing here; getting things in my head and expressing it on these different costumes. Just ideas get to my head and I started. I already knew what I wanted to do and I decide to put other things onto my original design and that's the end product. My son is going to wear that, he's playing the king. The name of the theme that we're playing this year is millennium fireworks. The king actually is demonstrating how fireworks is done for the year 2001.
Dragons Mas Band
She's called Burnt. She's a butterfly who flew too close to the flames of love and got one side of her wings scorched. And behind is her pursuer, the one who caused all the trouble.
View transcript of video
She' s called Burnt, she' s a butterfly who flew too close to the flames of love and got one side of her wings scorched. And behind is her pursuer the one who caused all the trouble. We' ll you get a design, then you have to do your structural drawings. You have to be able to know how much materials to buy, what materials to buy. When that is finished you have to get on to be able to build all the wings and whatever it is. But the main item is the backpack, where everything can go onto the backpack. Without a good backpack you can' t carry all the stuff. Then you have to resort to wheels, sometimes two wheels, sometimes four, sometimes six wheels. But I am trying to get out of the wheel situation and really have costumes you can dance rather than pull.
The bands' theme this year is Bacchanal, so all the costumes have a slightly dangerous sexual connotations about them, that' s the theme. If you follow the Trinidad carnival then this is based one of the traditional characters called the JabJab. But he is a Jab Jab for the 21st century. So on his chest there will be a heart which is jewelled and surrounded by black swansdown which is traditional and he has a skull for a headdress.
View transcript of video
40 Years of Notting Hill Carnival
Over thirty years I've been going to Notting Hill Carnival. First as a photographer, second as a pannist. Now I'm one of the, they say, top designers for the Carnival.
There's this picture here, which was the first time I've been to carnival. It was about in '74. It was the first steel band I saw coming down Notting Hill. At that time the main procession was going up and down Portobello Road. They were called Ebony Steel Band.
The following year I joined them and started to play pan. It was exciting, it was great. I thought gosh this is nice just gave me a sense of freedom really to know this is going on in London.
I like everyone coming together, just for those two days and enjoying themselves. And when you put a costume like that on you can be anybody you want and that's the beauty of it.
This is a costume I wore in 2002. It's quite a magnificent costume and I'm really chuffed that it's in the V& A because I've always loved coming here since I was very little. To see it here and to see this is what I wore is just kind of amazing really!
I don't make costumes as such, I produce carnival art. This is carnival art. As you can see it's over four metres tall and over 3 metres wide. It's mounted on a frame with wheels and just wheeled through the street.
It's all hand painted, but people would have thought it's airbrushed because I've developed this technique of painting in a way that it looks like it's been airbrushed.
From the age of 17 we were hooked and we've been doing it every year. This costume sort of relates to us because this year we had a white costume so it's quite similar. It had lots of feathers, lots of beads and stuff.
And we like to put on make up, in the morning getting ready with our friend who does it with us, putting on make up, putting on glitter. You know, glitter every where and just getting warmed up and ready to go.
