There is a carnival happening at almost every time of the year thanks to the Caribbeans spread across the world–Notting Hill Carnival in London, the West Indian Day Parade in New York City, Miami Carnival in Florida, Caribana in Toronto and of course the mother of all Carnivals…Trinidad Carnival. Being part of the masquerade (or playing mas) is part of Carnival tradition and you can’t play mas without a lavish costume. Men and women line the streets with extravagant costumes adorned with feathers, beads, glitter, lycra and other materials dancing to steel pan music from the band leaders all day long. Every year costumes get bigger, bolder and brighter and designs by Shola Thompson, CEO of Caribbean Passion Inc, are no exception.
Shola Thompson is a New York City born, Trinidad raised costume designer who began in Caribbean culture event coordinating upon her return to the U.S. to complete her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology. Thompson formed Caribbean Passion Inc. in 2006, overseeing costume design from start to finish. Her company has grown from three individuals to twelve; experiencing growth every year. Caribbean Passion Inc. designs, manufacturers, transports and provides masquerader and cultural services to individuals, companies and Carnival bands within North America, Europe and the Caribbean.
A few of her mas band clientele include Posion UK (London), Oasis (Trinidad), Cloud 9 (Trinidad), Ramajay (NewYork), Karma (New York), Andre Garvey and Associates (Grenada), Black Sage Carnival (Canada), Fantasy Band (Barbados).
In an exclusive interview with Shola Thompson, she gives Style & Vibes readers an inside look at her humble beginnings and her growth. We talked about her first Carnival experiences, her growth as a designer and what she has planned in the future.
Style & Vibes: Describe living in Trinidad.
Shola Thompson: Fun, relaxing, homely. That’s how I fell in love with Carnival. It’s the time of the year where everything is happening. It’s the best!
S&V: Tell me about your first Carnival experience.
ST: When I was younger, my mom played carnival and we use to go to a friend’s house that lived on the carnival route and we used to go there to watch her pass by. As I got older I was allowed to go, but had to check in every two hours. It was a great experience, it’s like Labor Day carnival (West Indian Day Parade in NYC), but with out all the barricades. The streets are engulfed with people, trucks and vendors.
S&V: How did you get into becoming a costume designer?
ST: I actually started out doing cultural events and parties. I’ve always been around the culture. Around 2006 I started began dabbling in costume production with two friends. Our first large client was the Sesame Flyers. We were three people designing 90 masquerade costumes, that includes bras, belts, head pieces and armbands. It was the most challenging experience. Now we have clients all over, London, Canada, Trinidad and more. We’ve even designed for Reggae artist Rayvon and his dancers for a few of his performances and videos.
S&V: Tell me about some of your clientele?
S.T: They range from small to large bands regionally and internationally. We’ve done projects for Western Union, West Indian Day Parade in Brooklyn, models and individuals.
S&V: What’s your largest client to date?
ST: We have a client right now for Carabana that has 6 different costumes for a set of 300+ individuals.
S&V: How do you keep up with the trends?
ST: Each year we get stronger and push the designs. We take into consideration the bands we’re designing for and everything is custom made. Our head designer Nicole has a background in clothing design, so she applies a more non-traditional approach and really cater to our clients. For example, on year for London’s carnival we designed capes and cover-ups with capes.
S&V:What do you have planned for the future?
ST:We want to get into Ready to Wear, but the situation has to be right. Incorporating carnival designs into everyday wear. The vision has to be right, potentially prepping for a summer 2012 launch.
Mikelah
Mikelah is a Caribbean Culture expert, curating the bridge between the Caribbean and its diaspora. A CUNY Baruch College graduate with a BBA in Marketing. With previous experience with Caribbean lifestyle brands such as VP Records, Tempo TV and JAMROCK Magazine. Currently serving as a digital marketing maven by day, while continuing to collaborate with Caribbean brands.
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Looking for a contact/interest that could produce our 2018 carnival costume. We have the basic design but requiring a little tweeking of colour scheme to reflect our reality here in Dominica following Hurricane Maria. Can you assist?