BLISS Carnival

BLISS CARNIVAL

TRIBE’s BLISS Welcomes NYC Based St.Lucian Designer Claude Desir

TRIBE’s BLISS Welcomes NYC Based St.Lucian Designer Claude Desir

Source: The Sweet 7

Finally I can reveal this secret, TRIBE’s BLISS welcomes NYC based St.Lucian Designer Claude Desir. Woohoo!

Claude Desir’s designs for BLISS 2015 presentation BLUE is this section RING OF FIRE.

Please excuse the following pictures but they were the initial pictures I got … I was awaiting BLISS professional pictures but I had to get you a quick peek (3rd costume from left in pic below). Please visit Trinidad Carnival Diary your number one source for ALL things Trinidad & Tobago carnival.
Claude Desir exuberantly announced, “By the close of 2014 there’d have been 35 designs (including 4 males) in 24 sections from 8 bands in 6 carnivals across the globe all done by the hands of yours truly … wow, what a feat!!! Stay tuned for my 2015 design season portfolio coming VERY SOON — feeling proud.”

Take a look at Claude Desir’s Desirable Designs 2014 Design Season Portfolio and read how he succeeded in having his design chosen by BLISS, yet another innovative chic carnival idea presented by Trinidad & Tobago’s premier carnival band TRIBE.

“As a lifelong enthusiast of all things carnival, I’ve been an avid fan of the band TRIBE from inception. And as band grew through the years; later spawning its sister band Bliss; so too did my admiration for the team responsible for having molded the band into the highly revered brand that it is today. I especially appreciated the talent of the core team of designers that TRIBE/Bliss had assembled, and as a burgeoning designer, I aspired to one day have my work next to that of these individuals that I so highly respected and in this band that I’ve long admired. Needless to say, when the opportunity presented itself last year (2013) directly from Monique Nobrega (Head of Production/Director/Designer for the sister bands) to submit a design for consideration for TRIBE’s 2014 10th Anniversary presentation, I jumped at it. Her recognition of the talent potential in my designs that she’d seen was affirmation that this aspiration of mine to have a design in TRIBE/Bliss was within reach and now the onus was on me to deliver.

The thought that this design was a TRIBE/Bliss submission haunted me for days, hindering my creativity, before my nerves finally settled allowing for my design concept and direction to flow freely. I was beyond thrilled with the end result, and my very small group of highly trusted confidants that I rely on for critique and feedback on my designs all seemed confident that this homage to Native American culture that I’d created for TRIBE Ten would surely see my dream realized. And whilst the design did get my foot in the door, it only held the door ajar but did not get me in. It turns out that I did give a great account of myself however as my design advanced through the selection stages as far as a design could go before getting the green light. But after laboring long and hard over their decision, the selection committee, at the eleventh hour, decided against going with my design.

Getting so close and not having my design selected was a tough pill to swallow but Monique and her team assured me they were impressed enough to want to see more from me the next year. Once the tentative themes for both bands for 2015 were decided upon I was informed and asked to submit more than one design this time around. Going in, it was a great asset, last year and this year, to have met and gotten advice, not just from Monique, but from other TRIBE/Bliss designers Gail, Lana, Solange and Val and band leader Dean Akin who met with me personally in New York this past Spring to tell me how pleased they were with the level of my work and how much they’re looking forward to my submissions this year. That put the pressure on to deliver, and many weeks and three designs later my submissions left New York for Trinidad and the wait began.

I vividly remember being at the New Yorker Hotel on the morning of Thursday June 5th setting up for the Media Marketplace as part of the Caribbean Tourism Organization’s Caribbean Week when I got the email from TRIBE/Bliss that one of my designs had been selected as part of Bliss’s 2015 presentation “Blue”. Once I’d read that line confirming my selection, the rest of the email was all a blur as I was overcome with an overwhelming sense of achievement. That same feeling overcame me when I watched the Bliss teaser video this past week and caught glimpses of my design. All I kept thinking was “WOW!!! I did it, I’m in and I made the teaser”. This, however, is only but the beginning of the realization of a dream. This year it’s Bliss, but hopefully next year and every year after I’ll get one or more designs in TRIBE and Bliss. But for now I revel in the fact that once Bliss’s 2015 website goes live, attached to one of the sections will be design credit paid to Claude Desir.”

– Claude Desir
Slow and steady wins the race! So proud and happy for you Claude!

BLISS Carnival