A very prompt Marc Jacobs welcomes back a '90s supermodel

2019-02-14 11:09 Last Updated At：11:11

Marc Jacobs didn't waste a second before starting his runway show on Wednesday. Literally.

The designer, whose high-profile show traditionally closes out Fashion Week, was clearly determined to make amends for a September show that began 90 minutes late, leaving fashion editors tapping their heels and checking flight schedules. This time he started his show the very second the clock struck the appointed hour of 6 p.m.

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Marc Jacobs collection is modeled by Willow Smith during Fashion Week in New York, Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2019. (AP PhotoAndres Kudacki)

Marc Jacobs collection is modeled during Fashion Week in New York, Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2019. (AP PhotoAndres Kudacki)

Fashion designer Marc Jacobs appears during his show at Fashion Week in New York, Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2019. (AP PhotoAndres Kudacki)

Marc Jacobs collection is modeled during Fashion Week in New York, Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2019. (AP PhotoAndres Kudacki)

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Marc Jacobs collection is modeled by Willow Smith during Fashion Week in New York, Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2019. (AP PhotoAndres Kudacki)

Marc Jacobs collection is modeled during Fashion Week in New York, Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2019. (AP PhotoAndres Kudacki)

Fashion designer Marc Jacobs appears during his show at Fashion Week in New York, Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2019. (AP PhotoAndres Kudacki)

Marc Jacobs collection is modeled during Fashion Week in New York, Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2019. (AP PhotoAndres Kudacki)

Besides his trademark showmanship, he had a surprise up his sleeve: the return of famed '90s supermodel Christy Turlington, a month after turning 50, to close the show in a voluminous black-feathered dress with a matching feathered fascinator. Karlie Kloss and Gigi Hadid were on hand, too.

As for the show itself, it was classic Jacobs at his best — high drama and fairytale whimsy, with big shapes and signature touches like oversized ruffles and flounces and bold florals, and deliciously roomy coats that beckoned, especially given the weather outside.

To live orchestral music — "Aheym," by Bryce Dessner, performed by the American Contemporary Music Ensemble — each model emerged into a lone spotlight from pitch-black darkness. The show began with a classic look: an A-line leopard coat, paired with striped trousers and a ruffled floral blouse.

A series of big coats and elegant capes followed, in stripes or solids, plaids or tweeds, with Kloss in a charcoal-colored tweed with a bow at the neck, paired with a feathery fascinator (the headgear was, as usual, by master milliner Stephen Jones.)

The coats revealed flouncy bright dresses underneath, like a shiny shocking pink number under a red tweed, or a blue-and-white floral with an exaggerated ruffle at the neck under a gray tweed. One light blue cape over a lavender skirt looked like it had just emerged from a fairytale forest — Little Blue Riding Hood, perhaps.

As the clothes got fancier, the sequins came out, as on one black A-line dress with huge puffed sleeves. There was a striking bright yellow off-the-shoulder number, and short, high-volume dresses like a blue feathered mini or a sky blue cape studded with both sequins and feathers.

Kerry Washington, Tracee Ellis Ross, Shailene Woodley and Sofia Coppola were all on hand, watching as Turlington, in black from the feather on her head to the shiny boots on her feet, closed out the show with a flourish.

Amputee football players in Rwanda find healing and a sense of community

KIGALI, Rwanda (AP) — The players struck their crutches against each other as they chased a soccer ball, as well as a larger dream of competing at the global level. Children shrieked in joy as they watched a goalie dive to block an attempt with her remaining hand.

Amputee football, a seven-a-side version of the game in which players roam the field on crutches and goalkeepers have one arm, has grown steadily in Rwanda over the past decade. Players say they have found a community on the field after embracing a sport some never imagined they could play. For many, it offers not only physical rehabilitation but also a sense of belonging.

In the capital Kigali, amputees play to foster healing and social cohesion after traumas that include the country's darkest period: the 1994 genocide, in which about 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were massacred by the majority Hutu population over a 100-day period.

Nyiraneza Solange was born two years after the genocide and lost her leg at the age of 5 after falling and developing an infection. She said the resilience shown by people who lost limbs during the genocide attracted her to amputee football.

She was encouraged by the former coach of the country's first amputee football team, who told her she could use her crutches to play. She quickly left any fear behind.

“I don’t even think about I don’t have a leg,” said Solange, explaining that she feels free while playing and has overcome the stigma that accompanies being an amputee.

Rwanda is estimated to have more than 3,000 lower-limb amputees. Some are victims of the genocide. Others are survivors of road accidents or illness.

Louise Kwizera, the vice president of the Rwanda Amputee Football Federation, said the sport enables players to learn to trust again, building unity in a society that “was once divided.”

“In communities affected by conflict or trauma, the playing field becomes a place of peace. People who may have different pasts come together as teammates,” Kwizera told The Associated Press.

Rwanda hopes to take part next year in the second women’s amputee football World Cup, an invitational event expected to be held in Poland or Brazil. Rwanda was represented by only a single player at the first edition of the competition in 2024.

The sport, governed by the World Amputee Football Federation, is played in more than 50 countries. Rwanda now has five women’s professional teams and 10 for men.

Haitian women’s amputee football team manager Fred Sorrels, who visited Rwanda to help develop the local program, said he was rooting for the East African country to host a World Cup. But the country's sports ministry said it has yet to make a formal bid.

Sorrels said he has seen the benefits of the sport.

“It’s a win psychologically and mentally for these ladies to have an opportunity to experience wholeness and wellness again,” he said.

Gilbert Muvunyi Manier, the Rwandan sports ministry's director general of sports development, called the sport a “powerful tool” for healing, reconciliation and social cohesion.

Players acknowledged limitations in strategy.

“It’s hard to save the ball when it goes to the side with the receding hand,” goalkeeper Nikuze Angelique said. Like Solange, she described a sense of community found on the field.

As players took selfies after a game, Angelique said she is hopeful they will reach the World Cup.

“It will be a dream come true,” she said.

For more on Africa and development: https://apnews.com/hub/africa-pulse

The Associated Press receives financial support for global health and development coverage in Africa from the Gates Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Find the AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

A very prompt Marc Jacobs welcomes back a &#039;90s supermodel