Strike a Pose!

Okay, now I have to commend Ian Wiltshire of Island Style for coming up with some novel party ideas over the years. He has marketed his fete “Glow” globally from Miami to Germany and I can still remember the first time I was given and invitation to Amnesia outside of Anchorage the year it all began. Amnesia the inaugural year was amazing, and for those who do not know it’s a fete held in collaboration with Island Style and Island People. Ian Wiltshire is also responsible for the Mad Hatter’s Ball and subsequent boat cruises that have been preceding the event recently and he is also the producer of some great songs such as “Trini to the Bone”. However I think we have reached the pinnacle of superficial partying when I see a new fete called “Pose” advertised for February 13th, same night as Glow by the way. The tag line on the flyer states “When Soca & Fashion Collide”.

In my mind I am thinking “great, another party where people literally stand up and pose all night looking pretty!” For those of you who only come to Trinidad for Carnival you may not be aware that there is an epidemic of “poser parties”. Those are the parties or fetes where everyone looks like they stepped out of the pages of Vogue or G.Q. with the women outfitted in the latest trends while the guys are uber meterosexual in their man blouses. During these parties there is little inclination for the posers to actually party and break a sweat dancing; they are only there to be seen, socialize with all the “right” people and have their photo taken for one of the numerous party websites which highlight this trend.

So to see a party actually called “Pose” to me means that someone not only caught on to this trend, but they intend to milk it for Carnival! Trinidad and Tobago has arrived! The Encarta dictionary definition of the word “Pose” is as follows:

1.adopt a posture
transitive and intransitive verb to adopt a particular physical posture for a photograph or painting, or position somebody or something for this purpose

2.impersonate
intransitive verb to pretend to be somebody or something else

3.be pretentious
intransitive verb to behave, dress, or assume a mental attitude intended to impress others

It would be interesting to see if anymore details are released about the concept behind this fete. Maybe I am being too quick to judge the word “Pose”; maybe the idea is to have a fashion show during the fete, sort of like MTV’s Fashionably Loud. Or, maybe they are going to hire photographers to go throughout the party snapping shots at patrons as they, well, pose. From past Island Style productions I know this one will be a hit for sure since Ian Wiltshire is pretty good at what he does.

And since I am not a “poser” by any definition of the word seeing as I don't go to fetes to have my photo taken, am to busy dancing and having a good time to try and impress anyone and could care less about pretending to be anyone else but Saucy, this fete is not for me. Whatever the conception is behind this fete, I think I will be passing on this one for sure!