Reuben Condor’s Costume
Reuben produced a Powerpoint presentation of his learning and development, he also participated in an interview to review the programme which you can watch here.
Reuben felt the programme gave him the opportunity to design a carnival costume as he has wanted to do one for some time.
He wants to be a fashion designer and this residency has helped him to learn to sew properly, scale a design properly from a model to a large-scale costume and to use making tools and spray paints which have expanded his creativity and skills.
Reuben says he would recommend the residency to other 16-year-olds so they can the experience he has had, speaking to other designers to look at their approach to making costumes and he also looked at the costume of one other young designer on the residency.
Photos: (Top and middle) Reuben in the costume he created.
(Bottom) Reuben in the workshop creating a head piece.
Photos by EJA Photography and supplied by Reuben Condor
Nylashea Wilson’s Costume
The Young Designers Costumes – Nylashea with her costume
I want to say thank you to my mentor and role model Shelia Howarth and the amazing seamstress Bernadette as this wouldn’t have been possible without them. I’d also like to thank Leeds West Indian Carnival for the support, opportunity and funding as they have created a foundation for my career as a young designer.
Week 1: I started the project late which wasn’t ideal we immediately got to work preparing and scrambling ideas for what we wanted. My first purchase was a notepad and colouring pencils.
I went home and sat on my bed and started to draw. I spent my first week or so following Shelia and watching her and Bernie work. Sew, pick up fabric, sketch. I even watched them brainstorm ideas.
I began to look at different frames and feathers and research what I wanted which was very fascinating.
Week 2: I had begun working on the frame with foam and started plating our frames. And I had begun doing the Young Masqueraders Summer School 2022 which is where I started to talk to the other young designers, Reuben Condor and Tyrese Holmes.
Me and Reuben actually became very good friends and getting to speak to Hughbon Condor which I found very educational. I enjoyed working with young children at the Summer School and performing an amazing dance.
Week 3: I had finished working on the frame and had begun constructing my own costume with a feathered lining. I wasn’t quite sure what colours I wanted but, in the end, I followed the same colour scheme as Unity Arts troupe, but it was still amazing.
We took a second trip to the fabric shop and bought some extra fabric.
Week 4: The last week came rapidly it was a matter of days before carnival and my costume wasn’t finished so we worked extra time to finish it up after much trial and error I had finished my head piece, chest piece and the whole costume.
If I told you I felt relieved, it would be an understatement. Fast forward to bank holiday Monday. I was so happy to see my costume on the road. My first ever costume constructed from start to finish by me and I was so proud.
It has been an absolute honour to work on this project and to be given the opportunity to grow and display my skills, to meet all the amazing designers and take inspiration from their work.
I would like to thank the residency again for this truly amazing experience.
Photos supplied by Nylashea Wilson
Tyrese Holmes’s Costume
I have been adopted by the Unity Arts troupe since 2016 learning costume design.
However, the Residency gave me a unique opportunity and the experience to expand on my developing skills and knowledge in Carnival Costume design, but it also allowed me to mature as I was designing and making independently with advice from my mentor, Malachi Blair.
Another way this residency helped me to mature was finding my own style, in the beginning of the residency with the initial stages of my designs I found myself designing past costumes.
I scrapped my designs and decided to do deep research into carnival costumes and the unique, distinct styles which is how I found and settled on Pretty Mas- the feathers, the gems, head, and body pieces – it was exactly what I wanted for my costumes.
There were many trials and tribulations that occurred during the project, the first problem was the frames. I did not get the frame exactly how I wanted it but that was the first lesson I learned, how to get exactly what I envision.
The next thing I learned was confidence and consistency are key to success. The process that leads to confidence and consistency issues was the gemming process. I have experience with rhinestones and trimmings so I went in completely unaware that it was, I can now say, was the most difficult part of the residency.
Aside from the number of additional cuts and burns I received, the positioning and layering of the rhinestones was extremely difficult, when making the belts for my costumes the centre piece displayed an intricate design consisting of gems, rhinestone appliques and trimmings layered and placed in the style of pretty mas.
This process of finding the right design was extremely time consuming and every time I placed the last gem on the design, I was met with dissatisfaction.
Eventually I was able to overcome this and was able to complete the costumes on time but what I now wish I would have done is communicated more with my mentor.
Seeing my costumes on carnival day will be something I will never forget, being on the road seeing people’s reactions to the costumes, hearing their compliments and people stepping out onto the road to take photos with the costumes was a complete relief. I was completely overrun with pride and joy.
I will forever be grateful that Leeds West Indian Carnival gave me this opportunity and I will most definitely be using the skills and knowledge I learned this year when designing costumes for carnivals in the future.
This residency should absolutely be continued, not only does it give the younger generation the chance to prove themselves and their talent, but it also ensures the future of carnival.
Photos supplied by Tyrese Holmes
Alisía France-Palma’s Costume
I have learnt from this residency that when given the right materials I can create anything I put my mind to. I was able to design and make a beautiful costume named ‘Mama Dea’ and it was showcased in the Leeds West Indian Carnival Parade on bank holiday Monday.
The bursary helped immensely as it made me able to allocate my costs more efficiently as well as having the freedom to buy high-cost materials to make my costume to have a more luxurious effect.
It should also be noted, the freedom to choose your own mentor was fantastic as we all chose someone we knew and has a high level of expertise.
I think it was an amazing experience regardless. wanted and are not overshadowed by their mentor.
However, I have learnt that this residency was a perfect opportunity for young people to finally have a “voice”, to be able to design, buy materials and make your own costume is a luxury not many people in general have.
So, to give this opportunity to young people is one of the best things to come out of LWIC in years and I 100% think that it should continue every year.
Photos by Wayne Herbert and Asha France
