With the West Indian America Day Carnival just days away, many are excited to bring it back for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It’s something we like to do. We like to represent our culture,” said Andrew Vieux, who launched Banbochemas in 2018, where he designs the costumes used in the carnival. “Whether you’re Jamaican, Haitian, Guyanese, Trini, we like to represent our culture in our own way.”
Vieux says preparations for the carnival start as early as February, and usually the costumes he designs come from a specific theme.
With so many designs and costumes on display along Eastern Parkway for the carnival every Labor Day weekend, Vieux says it’s the meaning of the costume that makes it unique.
“Every designer has their own way of making costumes. The only thing that would set you apart from others is not how beautiful it looks, but the meaning behind it,” said Vieux.
He says that once the New York Carnival is over, he and his friend will start preparing for the Broward Carnival in Miami in October.
