If anyone has watched HBO's series Treme season 2, it showed how they make the New Orleans' (NO) Mardi Gras Indians make the Carnivale' feathered costumes. It was a theme weaved through this season. One episode a reporter was interviewing the Chief about the construction of his regalia then they went to a museum of this type of costumes in NO. I wish I knew where the museum is located. It was the museum next to St. Louis Cathedral. Another thing for me to do in my Mardi Gras research.
A lot of work goes into the construction of these types of costumes. They work on them year round. The NO costumes have a lot of hand beading. Last Mardi Gras I photographed the Zulu Parade in New Orleans. The majority of the court has these elaborate carnivale' feathered costumes. They are amazing. The women wear an evening gown with their feathers and the men wear suits and feathers. The Central & South American countries that celebrate carnivale' are very proud of their costumes. These costumes have become known as their national costumes. Carnivale' is a huge tourist season for these countries and brings in a lot of money. Being on an international stage like Miss Universe is a perfect opportunity for them to advertise Carnivale' as their national costumes. Going to Rio & Venice for Carnivale' are on my bucket list. BTW, an update on my Mobile Mardi Gras costume research...last month when I traveled to Florida for my shoulder surgery, we stopped in Mobile (Alabama) Local History Library and pulled more descriptions of the MG court robes. I pulled descriptions for 1950s & 1980s robes. When my shoulder gets better, I will type them and add to my website, http://www.costumegallery.com/MardiGras/2010/Mobile/Museum/ The library's printer was down so we had to scan the articles. We just so happened to have brought our scanner with us. One article from the 1950s really caught my eye...during the 1930s the Mobile Jews created three societies to celebrate their own version of Mardi Gras that occurred one week after Mardi Gras. My husband was getting impatient scanning, so we didn't scan the article. On our way back home, we stopped by to scan the article...I couldn't find it. Something more to research. BUT I was talking with the Librarian, a group of five people joined in the conversation. They have been researching the history of Mardi Gras for 10 years, back to the French origin in the U.S. They offered to me to me many more places to research and they are going to obtain access for me. The group is not researching the costumes, but they know all the local robe designers and are willing to introduce me to them. YIPPEE! The next step in my research! I think I will be researching this till I die...every Coastal city/town celebrates Mardi Gras differently. I am already going there four times a year to research and photograph. LOL! I need a great sponsor! Penny Ladnier, owner The Costume Gallery Websites www.costumegallery.com 15 websites of fashion, costume, and textile history FaceBook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Costume-Gallery-Websites/107498415961579 _______________________________________________ h-costume mailing list [email protected] http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
