Louis Saldenah’s Mas-K-Club took no prisoners on Saturday night. The biggest band, with a legacy of winning that stretches back to the early days of Caribana, held a dramatic costume launch at the Chandi Banquet Hall in Scarborough in front an estimated crowd of over a thousand people.
Sixteen sections with the theme of the “Wonders of Spring” entertained the audience for 90-minutes with sexy, innovative costumes for both men and women. Costumes shown on Saturday will be worn by the city’s largest band (5,500 anticipated in 2018) during the August 4th Toronto Caribbean Carnival’s Grand Parade.
“Louis Saldenah’s Mas-K Club has got class,” said photographer Don Moreland. “Louis filled the place, the whole event had a great vibe at the Hall.”
Moreland has covered all of the Carnival launches this season and reports that the Saldenah’s launch was one of the best he has worked …. ever.
“Louis is good at what he’s into and that is Carnival,” he added. “ The sixteen sections were all showing costumes that looked big and clean. Most of the designs they went with were in the soft colours that Louis likes.”
The trend this year is for the various launches to start late and end really early the next day!
Mas-K-Club bucked the trend by starting the show at 12.30 am
Mas’ creator Karen Jones, a longtime designer with Mas-K-Club, was first onstage with Majestic Bloom, a costume which won thunderous applause. Then came other spectacular portrayals such as Venus Fly Trap, Breaking Dawn, The Awakening, Love Birds and Spring Bling.
The show got rave reviews almost immediately on social media. “The colours and costumes are soo beautiful. Why am I not surprised?” posted Char Rm.
Mas costume expert Jackie Forde paid tribute to an all gold Inca-like costume. “ I like that there were no feathers used at all – it was innovative and clever.”
The one criticism that was levelled several times that was that there were no costumes on stage designed for revellers that don’t have a perfect model’s body.
However, the Saldenah mas’ family promises that they will be costumes in their mas‘ camp for people of all shapes and sizes.