Tom Ford, Donatella Versace, and the late Gianni Versace and Alexander McQueen all made names for themselves in trend capitals actually and proverbially hundreds of miles away from Trinidad and Tobago. However there, throughout Trinidad Carnival 2024, the Rogue carnival band danced by way of the streets of Port of Spain sporting stylish masquerade costumes named of their honor.

Each carnival season a staff of trend and manufacturing designers develop an aesthetic for a brand new motif that carnival troupes embody through the two-day parade. This yr, Jules Sobion, Rogue’s band chief, selected “En Vogue”—a nod to the aforementioned designers, whose work has graced the pages of Vogue numerous instances, and likewise to the Oakland-born R&B-and-soul trio that rose to prominence within the ‘90s.

Masqueraders who jump-up with Rogue, are loyal to Caesar’s Military, a model that established a repute within the Soca neighborhood for producing a collection of immersive J’Ouvert occasions and festivals. This yr, Sobion was dedicated to rebounding from a difficult 2023; provide chain points led to faulty costume sizing. “I stored occupied with ‘V’ as a result of, effectively, we predict in Roman numerals,” Sobion says, including that 2024 was Rogue’s fifth yr on the street. As he speaks on the cellphone from his workplace in Port of Spain, a metal orchestra practices outdoors for Panorama 2024, the nationwide steelpan competitors. “They’re taking part in the identical track again and again,” he says. “I do not know if it’s driving me loopy or driving me to be extra passionate.”

Caesar’s Military, which partnered with Tribe, a Trinidad and Tobago carnival stalwart, leans closely into the uniform aesthetic. Sobion desired a theme that celebrated a milestone yr and signified overcoming setbacks. “And I feel, En Vogue! It triggered the lyrics in my thoughts, ‘free your thoughts, and the remaining will comply with.’”