Mellisa Simon-Hartman: Crafting Culture into Couture for Mas Africa 2025
In the vibrant world of Carnival, where feathers fly, music pulses, and bodies become moving canvases, Mellisa Simon-Hartman is a name that resonates like a drumbeat. A visionary designer, cultural storyteller, and the creative force behind some of the most awe-inspiring costumes on global stages, she stands at the powerful intersection of heritage and haute couture.
For 2025, Simon-Hartman brings her genius to Mas Africa, a diaspora-driven carnival movement blending African and Caribbean traditions in a bold new vision. And if history is anything to go by, this will not be a parade; it will be a proclamation.
A Dual Heritage, A Unified Vision
Half Ghanaian, Half Trinidadian, Mellisa Simon-Hartman doesn’t just design costumes, she designs conversations across continents. Her work draws deep from the well of African symbolism, Caribbean traditions, and the diasporan experience, infusing her pieces with meaning, memory, and majesty.
Her designs have graced stages from Notting Hill Carnival to Beyoncé’s “Black Is King”, yet each piece remains deeply rooted in tradition, even as it breaks boundaries.
Mas Africa 2025: SANKOFA
Mellisa steps in as Creative Director for Mas Africa’s Carnival design, a role that blends her background in internationally acclaimed designs, fashion, folklore, and many more. The result? A Mas presentation that is not only stunning but also spiritually and culturally grounded.
This year’s theme:
SANKOFA
Under her direction, Mas Africa’s costumes for 2025 will embody a fusion of African aesthetics and Caribbean Carnival tradition, spotlighting:
African royalty and architecture rooted in traditional warrior spiritual lineages, colour palettes pulled from both earth and fire
Each costume tells a chapter from ancestral memory to Diaspora joy, from resistance to resilience.
Innovation Meets Ancestry
Known for combining traditional techniques with futuristic silhouettes, Simon-Hartman’s designs challenge what Carnival can be. Expect to see costumes constructed with eco-conscious materials and African deities and Caribbean folklore heroes
These aren’t just costumes. They’re monuments.
Diaspora as Design Language
Mas Africa’s vision has always been to reclaim the cultural roots of Carnival not just as entertainment, but as a powerful expression of Black identity, migration, and memory. With Mellisa at the helm, 2025 becomes a cultural reset.
“The African influence in Carnival isn’t a detail, it’s the DNA,” she explains. “We’re honouring that while moving forward. It’s Africa, reimagined.”
Her designs speak to the Diaspora’s soul, those who were born between cultures, those raised in rhythm, and those rediscovering their roots.
Mas Africa 2025: A Call to the Diaspora
Slated to debut at the London Notting Hill Carnival in August 2025 and then featured across select international carnivals, Simon-Hartman’s collection will set a new benchmark for what Diaspora Mas can be: bold, intentional, and unforgettable.
Attendees can expect:
An immersive costume presentation, dance, and storytelling with each costume reveal and more
Final Words
In Mellisa Simon-Hartman, Mas Africa is not just a designer, but a cultural architect. And in Mas Africa 2025, the world will witness what happens when Ghanaian gold, Trinidadian flame, and Diaspora creativity come together in full glory.
Because this is not just fashion.
This is not just Carnival.
This is perfection in motion.
Explore Mellisa’s work
Mas Africa 2025 Carnival Info: Click Here