NO COPYCATS HERE!
Dragon Fly Mas bandleader Rodney Powers has rejected suggestions that the band took elements from Trinidadian carnival band Yuma for its Crop Over presentation.
Recently, Caribbean carnival enthusiasts pointed out what were seen as striking similarities between Yuma’s La Nouba section and Dragon Fly Mas’ Life Of A Harlequin.
Both bands also carried similar themes, with Yuma’s being called Cirque and Dragon Fly’s being called Circus.
“We are not interested in copying. The designers who worked on it are Barbadians and we would have worked on them before the costumes would have come out for Trinidad Carnival. We were not interested in copying anything that Yuma has to offer because we think that Crop Over can have things that are current,” Powers told Weekend Buzz on Monday during a telephone interview.
He added that fabrics, including the chequered design which he said was now in fashion, were bought in China.
“Students in the Caribbean Market Centre, a Barbadian fashion incubation programme, designed the costumes.
The fund from the sale of the costumes go towards internship and also assists with buying equipment for the market centre.”
The band features three other sections: Vintage Tamer, Imaginary World and U’luv-Crop Over.
Stressing he was not interested in a battle with Yuma, Powers added: “If Trinidad and Tobago can have current fabrics and . . . quality fabrics, why should we [in Barbados] use . . . cheap cloth?
We have standards and we will always have the best of the best for our band members.”
When contacted, a representative from Yuma said: “Yes, we are aware of the launch and designs done by this entity. We are in no way affiliated with Dragon Fly Mas. Our designers have had no input into their band [or] theme. Neither have we been approached to have any of our designs or theme reworked or reproduced.
“We have not been given an opportunity to view these prototypes before being released to the public. We have had no knowledge of this previous to the launch.”
