Designer Deron Attzs believes Carnival costumes, especially kings and queens, should not just be beautiful, but have meaning beyond a band’s theme.
This belief, and the resulting products, took him to the UK to play mas, engage in discussions about TT’s culture and generally represent the country.
“I wanted everything I do as a masquerader to have a deeper relevance outside of the competition aspect of Carnival. So it had to have life after Carnival. And the story of the costumes I did had relevance and sparked interest in the UK.”
Attzs started playing mas as a Carnival King with his band Simply Smooth Productions in 2022 and, in 2023, he and his two king costumes, Out of the Darkness into the Light and The Conduit Messenger Healer, were off to the UK.
“The first two years of this particular decade were shrouded in darkness and mystery with regard to covid19. So 2023 was the first year of coming out of that hole, that period of so much death and loss of life. We lost over seven million people globally.
"That's why the costume was called Out of the Darkness into the Light. So it represented a new beginning, a new birthing.”
He said Out of the Darkness into the Light was a 16-by-16-feet wide and 16-feet-tall white and silver costume representing purity. On its wings were the names of people of cultural influence who survived the pandemic, including Machel Montano, Calypso Rose and the Mighty Sparrow.
The other, The Conduit Messenger Healer, was a 17-by-17-feet wide and 17-feet-tall black and silver costume with the names of over 2,000 people who died after contributing to TT mas, pan, sports, culture, media and more written on its wings.
[caption id="attachment_1037900" align="alignnone" width="576"] Clothing and mas designer Deron Attzs. Photos courtesy Deron Attzs. - Janelle De Souza[/caption]
He lamented that he had to remove the name of calypsonian Denyse Plummer from the white costume and add it to the black when she died of cancer on August 27.
Representing the Torrance Mohammed Culture and Arts Foundation, Attzs was invited to be part of four carnivals in the UK as well as to speak in workshops and schools on the idea of rejuvenating the visibility of TT creativity and Carnival.
This was done through Rubadiri Victor, president of the Artists’ Coalition of TT, who said the mission was part of an annual exhibition, Pantheon, highlighting relevant traditional mas costumes, curated Carnival history, and interactive exhibits and king and queen costumes that still existed.
Victor said even though TT was creating things that were unique to the country, most of the king and queen costumes were destroyed after Carnival so there were no artifacts and the skills were disappearing.
[caption id="attachment_1037901" align="alignnone" width="711"] Designer Deron Attzs poses with a young spectator while portraying his King costume Out of the Darkness Into the Light during Notting Hill Carnival in August 2023. - Janelle De Souza[/caption]
He said one of the reasons the costumes were destroyed was
