Mas-Querade
LUNAR GALA FASHION SHOW 2015
Designed to bring cultural awareness to the historical origins of Trinidad & Tobago’s (T&T) world-renowned Caribbean Carnival, this collection illustrates how an uninhibited art form emerged from the oppressive colonization of the West Indies.
This tradition was born amongst Caribbean slaves and indentured servants as a symphony of festivities meant to imitate the lavish masquerade balls originally held by French plantation owners in preparation for the fasting of Lent. Censorship of these masquerades, colloquially referred to as ‘mas’, sparked a rebellious movement called Canboulay (from the French cannes brulees meaning ‘burnt cane’), which led slaves to riot in the streets, while burning sugar cane−their main export−as a torch.
By 1838, slaves were freed and the once-inhibited masquerades evolved on the island as the African, East Indian, Oriental, and European influences coalesced, resulting in today’s Carnival Mas becoming the national symbol of T&T’s emancipation.
This collection uses an array of ethnic fabrics to represent these multicultural influences and is broken up into three pairs of looks that abstractly chronicle the evolution of Mas from (1) the bounds of slavery to (2) the fiery catalyst of Canboulay to (3) the modern celebration of freedom and grandeur.
PROCESS WORK
*Original sketches evolved over time...