Dress

It was the greatest gathering of royals outside of a major coronation: the wedding of Hussein, the crown prince of Jordan, to Rajwa Al Saif. It was also a striking display of the power of modest fashion, as guests including Crown Princess Mary of Denmark, Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, Princess Beatrice of Britain and various other attendees wore long gowns with airy capes flying off their shoulders, or draped, fluted sleeves, in recognition of Jordanian mores. Queen Rania wore a high-neck black Dior dress with gold-toned embroidery on the back and at the wrists and throat. Catherine, Princess of Wales, accompanied by her husband, Prince William, had on a similar style in blush pink, with embroidery at the bodice, by the Lebanese designer Elie Saab. Mr. Saab also made the bride’s wedding gown, a stately sheath with an asymmetric neckline, a draped bodice and what looked like an acres-long overskirt, its grandeur just slightly subverted by the fact that Ms. Al … [Read more...] about Capes, Couture and Prince William at the Royal Wedding in Jordan

Ahmad Maksoud and Josef Matthew Perou first met in March 2020, a time that was far from joyful. Both work as models and performers, and were similarly impacted by pandemic lockdowns. Cut off from performance work in their respective cities — Mr. Maksoud in New York and Mr. Perou in London — they were craving connection to their art communities. That month, when a photographer they had both worked with posted an old photo of Mr. Perou on Instagram, Mr. Maksoud was entranced. “In a way, he was someone that I kind of dreamed about already,” Mr. Maksoud said. “I almost felt like I already had a connection to him in some kind of abstract way.” So he reached out to the photographer to find out who the model was. “He was like, ‘He lives in London. Don’t get your hopes up or anything,’” Mr. Maksoud said. When he sent Mr. Perou an Instagram DM, the two immediately bonded over their shared career interests. “My first thought was, ‘This man is beautiful,’” Mr. Perou said. “I very … [Read more...] about The Dress Code was ‘Fly and Gay’

See the article in its original context from November 3, 1986 Section Page Buy Reprints View on timesmachine TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. About the Archive This is a digitized version of an article from The Times’s print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them. Occasionally the digitization process introduces transcription errors or other problems; we are continuing to work to improve these archived versions. THERE comes a time when a satirical writer, if he's really out for blood, must stop clowning around and move in for the kill. That unmistakable moment of truth arrives about halfway through ''The Colored Museum,'' the wild new evening of black black humor at the Public Theater. In a sketch titled ''The Last Mama-on-the-Couch Play,'' the author, George C. Wolfe, says the unthinkable, … [Read more...] about STAGE: ‘COLORED MUSEUM,’ SATIRE BY GEORGE C. WOLFE

For decades, the seven reels from 1913 lay unexamined in the film archives of the Museum of Modern Art. Now, after years of research, a historic find has emerged: what MoMA curators say is the earliest surviving footage for a feature film with a black cast. It is a rare visual depiction of middle-class black characters from an era when lynchings and stereotyped black images were commonplace. What’s more, the material features Bert Williams, the first black superstar on Broadway. Williams appears in blackface in the untitled silent film along with a roster of actors from the sparsely documented community of black performers in Harlem on the cusp of the Harlem Renaissance. Remarkably, the reels also capture behind-the-scenes interactions between these performers and the directors. MoMA plans an exhibition around the work called “100 Years in Post-Production: Resurrecting a Lost Landmark of Black Film History,” which is to open on Oct. 24 and showcase excerpts and still frames. Sixty … [Read more...] about Coming Soon, a Century Late: A Black Film Gem

LOXAHATCHEE, Fla. — “Does this remind you of something?” the teenager shouted to her parents, who were watching from their farmhouse’s back porch. “You guys were usually the ones running next to us!” As part of a riding lesson, she was sprinting alongside a pony with a giggling girl in the saddle. It was the kind of lesson her parents, Kevin and Dianna Babington, had given her and her sister years before. The parents smiled at the memory. Now, their 14-year-old daughter was the one leading that brown pony around the ring. The Babingtons know not to take such moments for granted. Until last August, Kevin Babington, an Olympian, was having a remarkable career as a rider for hire in the equestrian sport of show jumping, in which horses leap fences set up over a winding course. Babington, 51, would take clients’ horses and increase their value — sometimes into the millions — by riding them to top finishes. Last July, he swept the top three places at a Grand Prix event on … [Read more...] about A Great Equestrian Fell From a Horse. Can He Get Back Up?

A portly sexagenarian, Michel Djotodia had dressed for his coup d’état, donning desert camouflage, a turban and sandals like those of the rebels in his region of the Central African Republic. Mr. Djotodia, a wily opportunist who has had many occupations but has rarely if ever been called a soldier, in late March rode with a rebel convoy through Bangui, the capital, just hours after President François Bozizé had fled . Mr. Djotodia’s men pried open the front gate of the Ledger Plaza hotel, a newly inaugurated five-star palace financed by Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, the Libyan dictator, as guests cowered inside. He inquired about a room. Hours later, Mr. Djotodia, whose name was little known in Bangui and whom few analysts viewed as a figure of much political consequence, proclaimed himself president. Changing his fatigues for dark dress suits, he continues to maintain his hold on that title, despite an outcry from governments around the world that have refused to recognize … [Read more...] about Mystery Shrouds Rise and Aims of Rebel at Helm of Central African Republic