Sesame Flyers Goes “Vogue” for New York Carnival 2013
In its 30th anniversary year, Sesame Flyers International entered New York Carnival 2013 with a presentation built around style, fashion and Caribbean mas: “Vogue.”
Julianspromos captured highlights from the Brooklyn band launch as Sesame Flyers introduced the costumes and sections that would eventually make their way onto Eastern Parkway for Labor Day.
The launch gave masqueraders their first real look at what Sesame had planned for the season, including individual sections such as F.A.M.E. by Basic Classics, which formed part of the larger Vogue presentation.
Carnival Meets the Runway
Sesame Flyers approached the 2013 season with a concept that naturally lent itself to a band launch.
Vogue blended the visual spectacle of Caribbean Carnival with the attitude and presentation of a fashion runway.
Instead of seeing the band only as one large collection of costumes, the launch allowed each section to have its own personality while still fitting into the wider theme.
For masqueraders, this was the moment when Carnival planning became real.
Which costume stood out?
Which section felt right?
And which look would eventually make the trip down Eastern Parkway?
Thirty Years of Sesame Flyers
The season was particularly meaningful because Sesame Flyers was celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2013.
Founded in Brooklyn in 1983, the organization had developed into much more than a Carnival band. Sesame Flyers became known for youth development, cultural programming and community services while maintaining a major presence within New York’s West Indian Carnival.
By 2013, Sesame was already one of the established names on Eastern Parkway, with a long history of competitive mas and multiple Band of the Year victories.
That meant Vogue was not simply another Carnival theme.
It was the presentation Sesame Flyers was taking into its fourth decade.
Building “Vogue”
The fashion-inspired concept gave designers freedom to create sections with different moods and styles while keeping the entire band connected through the larger theme.
Designer Akin Ross was among the creatives associated with Sesame’s 2013 presentation, contributing sections including “Bellissimo Mare” and “Fierce.”
The result was a launch that felt as much like a Caribbean fashion presentation as a traditional mas-band reveal.
Costumes moved under the lights.
Models introduced individual sections.
And masqueraders watching from the audience were already imagining what those designs would look like once they left the stage and hit the road.
Basic Classics Presents F.A.M.E.
One of the individual sections captured by Julianspromos came from Basic Classics, which presented F.A.M.E. as part of Sesame Flyers’ 2013 Carnival lineup.
The surviving Julianspromos video gives F.A.M.E. its own closer look while still belonging to the wider Vogue story.
F.A.M.E. fit naturally into a season built around fashion and presentation.
Instead of creating a separate Carnival story around the section, the footage adds another layer to the full Sesame launch by showing how individual designers and sections contributed their own identity to Vogue.
For masqueraders choosing where to play, these section reveals were often just as important as the overall theme.
The band might be Sesame Flyers.
The presentation might be Vogue.
But the final decision often came down to the costume.
From the Launch to Eastern Parkway
By Labor Day, the controlled environment of the band launch was gone.
The costumes had to move.
Feathers had to survive hours on the road.
Masqueraders had to bring the presentation to life.
And Vogue moved from the launch stage into the full energy of the West Indian American Day Carnival on Eastern Parkway.
Sesame Flyers entered the Adult Large Band competition as one of the major organizations expected to challenge for the top positions.
When the results came in, Sesame finished second in the Adult Large Band category, behind Ramajay Mas.
Another strong finish had been added to Sesame Flyers’ long Carnival history during a year already defined by its 30th anniversary.
When Brooklyn Was Still Getting Ready
That is what makes the launch footage fun to revisit.
Nobody was on Eastern Parkway yet.
There were no judging results.
There were no music trucks crawling through Brooklyn.
Carnival was still ahead.
The costumes were new.
The sections were being introduced for the first time.
And Sesame Flyers was showing New York what Vogue was going to look like.
The additional F.A.M.E. footage helps recreate that experience more fully, giving viewers a closer look at one section inside a much larger presentation.
Weeks later, all of those individual designs would come together on the road.
But before Eastern Parkway became the stage, Brooklyn got the runway.
