MASQUERADE PARTY

           This particular Saturday evening was different .Unlike other weekends; I didn’t have much to do. However, there was this fashion and art event everyone had been talking about all week. In the history of all the events that had taken place in Maseno University, none was different from the other. Students were used to cliché, and it wasn’t hard to read that there was an air of anticipation for something new.

           This event was dubbed ‘The Masquerade Party ‘courtesy of a new club in the university named, Insigne Club. A ticket to get to the event was a Halloween mask and the dress code was a cocktail outfit. I had so many voices in my head asking, what is the meaning of Insigne? What are they Masquerading? Who are behind it all? Why are their tickets masks? All these led me to the conviction that, I really had to attend this event. I had randomly bought the mask ticket which was going for ksh100, from a friend who had bought one but wasn’t going to be available on the material day. I fancied the mask ticket; after all I had only experienced all these things from watching western movies.

            I love fashion, but I clearly didn’t have an idea of how a cocktail dress should look like. Cocktail parties are for the elite in society, and I was just an ordinary student, who had an eye for good clothes, ‘I thought out loud’. It was two hours to the event and I hadn’t found the perfect dress. Masquerade party was scheduled to begin at 8.30pm.After a long, mind boggling search in my small closet; I finally came across a dress I had kept in store for any special occasion. It was a knee length black dress with lace detail on the sleeves. In addition it also had an attached gold coated belt running through the waistline. Was it perfect? Of course not, but it was among the few outstanding attire in my closet. In this consolation, I put it on and paired it up with a pair of brown stilettos.

            I was looking forward to having a good time but I majorly wanted to find out who was the brain child of the Insigne Club. Word had it that, the team was comprised of, sophisticated students who had an edge in fashion and art. Behind every rumour, there is some truth right? I was partly convinced about this whole story. This was the first time I had encountered the story of exceptionally creative students. It was rather difficult to have a casual talk in a group of people, without someone failing to mention the Insigne team. They had barely launched anything, yet their impact was already been felt immensely. 

        With only a few coins to buy me at least two or three glasses of cocktail, I walked to the event, which was at least 2 kilometres from my house. I couldn’t afford to ride on the common motorbikes which are the most convenient mode of transport around the varsity. The experience was torturing, but I believed it was worth the tussle. “Can I have your ticket?”A tall well built macho man at the venue gate asked. He took my mask, stamped it and requested that I put it on. I was literally taken a back because all the events held in the University didn’t uphold strict security at the entrance.

           Jazz Music invited you from the gate, all the way to the Botanic Garden hall, where the event was taking place. Just before getting to the hall, there was a photo shoot booth with a graffiti backdrop. On the floor was a red carpet, giving it the feel of a stardom experience. Moreover, the photography offered was top notch and I could almost reckon with the feeling of a superstar. At the hall entrance, beautiful warm ladies dressed in black flowing gowns ushered you in to a specific sitting position. It surely made me feel important.

          The interior hall design looked sophisticated. It had all been branded Masquerade Party with the Insigne Club logo attached to it. A couple of sponsors banners had been planted around the photo shoot areas, the stage and some sections of the runway. In sponsorship was Coca Cola and Samsung. The runway was covered with a red carpet embellished with pink and white flower petals from lilies, giving it an exquisite outlook. Lighting was also an outstanding factor encompassing a mixture of different warm colours such as red, yellow and orange. It’s the small nitty-gritty details that made the venue look classy.

         Throughout these moments of noticing these outstanding design features, I couldn’t help but imagine how creative this team was. The experience brought out, was as though this people were professionals in the industrial market bearing polished skills. Small stand set ups had been put up across distinctive places in the hall, where different kinds of artwork had being displayed. This artwork ranged from paintings, to dresses, and everything else under the umbrella of art. Visiting the stands felt like walking or getting buried in an entire art gallery where you find every artistic treasure you could think of.  

         It was at nine o’clock and the numbers were looking promising. Since nothing had actually begun and I didn’t seem to recognise anyone behind the masks, I decided to get a cocktail to get myself engaged. Being around people I know feels warm, but I wouldn’t say my own company at the time was unbearable because there was so much to keep my eyes glued at. Given an opportunity, I would have just spent the night enjoying the view. “All this artwork is handmade by students across various departments” a short, masked brunet lady said to me. “My name is Fatma” she added, while taking off her mask. “I am Beth and I am here for the event, what about you?”I asked. “Well, I am the chairlady of the club” she said.

          In that moment, I wanted to ask her so many questions, especially after spending a whole week trying to fill blanks in my head. Though I was filled with all this curiosity, I knew I had to have my timing right. I thus asked for her number and requested if she could arrange for me to have a meeting with her team because I was interested in a doing a story on them. Contrary to my expectations, she was thrilled by request and thus said she definitely was looking forward to it. After getting that opportunity, for some reason, the night started looking up.

            It certainly didn’t take long, before the hall was filled up with guests in masquerade masks of different colours. You could tell that everyone had definitely taken their time to put their outfits and make-up together. It was quite obvious that everyone wanted to bring out the best out of themselves. The lights in the hall got dimmed out leaving the designed runway lit up. For a moment, I thought I was in the New York or Paris fashion week. This was at least close to what I always imagined from the fashion television channels.

           “You are all welcome to the Masquerade Party, where it’s all about, mystery, fantasy, and fashion” the master of ceremony said. It was all now clear, fashion for runway, mystery and fantasy for the ability of the masks to hide identity. A band of four was introduced to play Afro pop music. They had two guitars, two microphones, a piano and a drum. This was quite regular but the moment they started singing, everyone hushed. The Music was at its best, due to the talent behind their voices was breathtaking. It got me reflecting about just how much the youth in my University were so talented yet if you walked around, you would hardly tell.

           Minutes after, the first bunch of models took over the runway. The mood in the room was switched through the dimming of lights and playing of smooth African instrumentals. Their bodies were all so lean, you would think they live in the gym or at least take fifteen glasses of water when you are taking the regular eight glasses. These bunch was showcasing an afro-modern cloth line designed by a male, second year, medicine student. The pieces fit so perfectly, I would not help but wonder why this young man was studying medicine. Medicine is in the saving-lives business while fashion is in the making-people- look-good business, right? Just how could someone balance these two extreme worlds?

           Thereafter abstract and arty-crafty paintings were displayed on the runway. A great percentage of them could easily be compared to that which is found in the art galleries. Refined, well thought through and prolific, just to mention but a few, are among the best words that one would use to describe the paintings. I could almost bet that they were particularly, an art student’s works, until the master of ceremony bust my bubble again. It was all the effort of a third year psychology student. It all narrowed down to talent. Only talent could give you the leeway to be at so many places at the same time.

           90 percent of what was displayed was designed and made by students who had not gone through any formal training. I t was all about creativity and what someone loved doing. Looking at the sponsor’s faces I couldn’t help but realise how thrilled they were by the displayed works. Furthermore, It was even announced that Coca Cola was giving all the drawing artists a ready market to sell their paintings while Samsung on the other hand, handpicked a few cloth lines that would be used to dress the models at the yearly ‘Samsung Face Of Africa’ competition. This was a moment of glory for the artists, a platform had been created for them to show case what they do best.  Artists, who were not handpicked, did not feel any less because someone out there had recognised their talent, and it was only but a matter of time before their shining moment dawns.

           “Insigne Club was conceptualized early this year. The word Insigne was derived from the word ‘Insignia’ that means a distinguishing sign. We wanted to be distinguished from the rest by the virtue of what we do. Our main goal has been to create a platform for fashion and art artistes. Maseno University bears a lot of untapped talent, so after making this realization my team found a need to close this gap by forming a club that nurtures them. We are glad that through our first step, some artistes have been handpicked for their outstanding works” Fatma said, through a small speech she was requested to give after the artistic displays.

            It didn’t take rocket science for one to attest that it was good job well done for the Insigne team. Everything in the room screamed, passion, hard work, resilience and genuine hearts out there willing to extend a supporting hand to talent. Anyone who was looking for something out of the box would be inequitable, to confess that The Masquerade Party didn’t nail the jackpot. Every expectation I had about the event was met, there was no debating on that.  To add the cherry on top, I got to at least meet two new friends and a possible appointment to meet the Insigne team.