Erup the Band presented their offerings for this year’s Kadooment at their band launch held at George Washington House last Friday. As with any band launch, there may have been a fete surrounding it, but the main attraction was the reveal of the costumes. As dead as the spectators were during the night leading up to it, they certainly came alive once it was time to see what they’d really come there for and Erup did not disappoint. Especially if the crowd reaction was anything to go by.
It would have been nice to see a greater diversity of body types with the female models. There was only one thick girl, or one and a half if you count the model who wore the Ametrine front line costume; she was thicker than the other models, but not as thick as the Mystic Topaz wholepiece model. The other models had the typical, lean, thin, tall body types one would expect. Thick girls jump in Kadooment too!
In fact, it would be nice to have a thick male model – or a few – too! Although those used by Erup did have closer to average/typical bodies than the male models used by bands like Zulu (we didn’t cover their band launch, but we saw the photos), who are so muscle bound that they’re too big. To the point that they almost look deformed.
Aside from those minor gripes, the models were excellent. They had amazing energy, looked like they were having fun and they showed off the costumes very well. The models were clearly well rehearsed and there wasn’t a toe, feather, gem or eyelash out of line.
The aforementioned Mystic Topaz wholepiece model was a personal favourite. She had the fiercest, most extra introduction that would make anyone scream “Yaaas! Queen!” and her runway walk was on point. She was incredibly charismatic and sassy in the best way.
Another personal favourite was the model who donned the Black Opals frontline costume. She too was charismatic and sassy and was the one of only two models who looked directly into our camera and gave a classic Victoria’s Secret point into it. You know the one if you watch that brand’s fashion shows.
For the most part the costumes were quite accurate representations of the gems from which their sections took their names; Ametrine (incorrectly spelt “Amertrine” on the night), Black Opals, Mystic Topaz, Mojave and White Diamonds. With a quick Google Image Search, one would find that the colours found in those gems are more or less faithfully reproduced in the costumes.
Ametrine was predominantly yellow, whereas, in the gem the dominant colour is purple, but with Mojave prominently featuring the colour it’s understandable why the choice was made. Mystic Topaz contained yellow and orange while purple and magenta are the other colours in the gem, but the costumes were dazzling nonetheless, as were those in the other sections.
Speaking of, “dazzling” is an apt word in describing these costumes considering the theme “Hidden Treasures: Gems of the Caribbean” and the amount of bling used in the Ametrine and White Diamonds sections in particular. Erup did not skimp when it came to those two sections at all.
The Erup costume presentation was well produced, well choreographed and well executed. The designers did good jobs in crafting their costumes in general, but especially in keeping to the theme and creatively interpreting the gems which inspired them. The models did their jobs in making the costumes shine and look appealing. It was a good showing overall.
Make sure to watch our highlight reel from the launch below and follow us on Instagram and Facebook for more.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BhryEowg2C1/?taken-by=zgemag
