内容摘要：This Met Gala moment stands on the shoulders of icons like Frederick Douglass, who wielded sharp dress as a form of power, and Duke Ellington, who transformed suiting into cultural brilliance.

This Met Gala moment stands on the shoulders of icons like Frederick Douglass, who wielded sharp dress as a form of power, and Duke Ellington, who transformed suiting into cultural brilliance.

A design by Grace Wales Bonner is displayed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)They represent the beginnings of a Black middle and upper middle class in America, Miller says. But she points out a group of racist caricatures in a case right across from the portraits.

“Almost as soon as they are able to do this,” she says, referring to the portraits, “they are stereotyped and degraded.”W.E.B. Du Bois, Miller points out, was not only a civil rights activist but also one of the best-dressed men in turn-of-the-century America. He traveled extensively overseas, which meant he needed “clothing befitting his status as a representative of Black America to the world.”Objects in the display include receipts for tailors in London, and suit orders from Brooks Brothers or his Harlem tailor. There is also a laundry receipt from 1933 for cleaning of shirts, collars, and handkerchiefs.

Also highlighted in this section: Frederick Douglass, the abolitionist, writer, and statesman and alsoThe show includes his tailcoat of brushed wool, as well as a shirt embroidered with a “D” monogram, a top hat, a cane and a pair of sunglasses.

One of Miller’s favorite items in the heritage section is Agbobly’s bright-colored ensemble based on the hues of bags that West African migrants used to transport their belongings.

Also displayed is Agbobly’s denim suit embellished with crystals and beads. It’s a tribute not only to the hairbraiding salons where the designer spent time as a child, but also the earrings his grandmother or aunts would wear when they went to church.As greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise, so too will the intensity of the storms, warned Hiroyuki Murakami, a climate scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the study’s lead author. “Climate models all over the world robustly project more favorable conditions for tropical cyclones.”

Goats roam amidst dragon’s blood trees on the Yemeni island of Socotra on Sept. 18, 2024.(AP Photo/Annika Hammerschlag)Goats roam amidst dragon’s blood trees on the Yemeni island of Socotra on Sept. 18, 2024.(AP Photo/Annika Hammerschlag)

But storms aren’t the only threat. Unlike pine or oak trees, which grow 60 to 90 centimeters (25 to 35 inches) per year, dragon’s blood trees creep along at just 2 to 3 centimeters (about 1 inch) annually. By the time they reach maturity, many have already succumbed to an insidious danger: goats.An invasive species on Socotra, free-roaming goats devour saplings before they have a chance to grow. Outside of hard-to-reach cliffs, the only place young dragon’s blood trees can survive is within protected nurseries.