With the New Year’s celebrations behind us, it may seem premature to start looking ahead to the next round of festivities, but February isn’t that far away and Southern Comfort is kick-starting 2022 the right way with the first big excuse to party: Mardi Gras. Originating in New Orleans, just like Southern Comfort, Mardi Gras is an explosion of colour that takes over the whole city with parties, parades, dancing, food, drink and more.
If you’ve ever experienced a proper New Orleans Mardi Gras, you’ll know it’s a serious business and not to be rushed. No one knows that better than Southern Comfort—the unique spirit of New Orleans—and they’re already lining up what looks set to be a Mardi Gras to remember.
The spirit of New Orleans is about bringing people together, with this year’s limited edition bottle inspired by this sense of collaboration. Last year, Southern Comfort worked with NOLA (aka ‘New Orleans, Louisiana’) artist Brandan ‘BMike’ Odums on a Mardi Gras-themed bottle–and now they want to share the magic of the city with the UK. For this second edition, BMike personally chose South London artist Jade Pearl to design the new bottle.
Keen to create a design that champions the importance of Mardi Gras and what it means to New Orleans, Jade connected with BMike over Zoom throughout the design process for a series of conversations that took in what Mardi Gras means to him, the festival’s history, the fashion and the traditions, and how it all connects with the concepts of optimism, self-expression and togetherness.
For the better part of a decade, BMike has been weaving his eye-popping graffiti style into the fabric of the city and it’s now a central part of NOLA’s identity. Using bold designs and colour palettes, BMike uses his work to celebrate the city’s proud, vibrant history and culture, building on what came before while looking forward to the city’s bright cultural future with an optimism that unites the city’s diverse demographics.
Speaking on how she approached the design, Jade shares: “The design I’ve created aims to bring to life the spirit of Mardi Gras in New Orleans, the home of Southern Comfort. It encapsulates the vibrant and optimistic atmosphere as well as abstract shapes and my signature styles. I wanted to encapsulate the celebrations of the NOLA people, this was denoted through smiles, movement and freedom which brings together people from a host of different backgrounds.
“B-Mike mentored me along the way, teaching me more about New Orleans and what the Mardi Gras celebrations mean for the community. My design incorporates certain elements from his original artwork and looks to reflect its colourful vibrancy.”
New Orleans and its people take Mardi Gras immensely seriously, but it’s as much about the international visitors that flock to the city each year as it is the locals who turn their home town into a colour-splashed annual street party and parade. In fact, welcoming people from every corner of the globe and sharing the culture and the celebrations is an essential part of it all.
The new limited edition bottle is part of a series of activities Southern Comfort are creating for Mardi Gras, building up to an immersive Mardi Gras experience expected in February.
The limited edition Southern Comfort Mardi Gras bottle is now available at all major grocers, including Tesco and Sainsbury’s, nationwide for £15 (70cl) (promotional offer for limited time only).
