{"id":197218,"date":"2026-04-14T19:28:16","date_gmt":"2026-04-14T19:28:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/197218\/"},"modified":"2026-04-14T19:28:16","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T19:28:16","slug":"zulu-royalty-on-display-ogden-museum-showcases-king-and-queen-carnival-garments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/197218\/","title":{"rendered":"Zulu royalty on display: Ogden Museum showcases king and queen Carnival garments"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The exhibit features the ceremonial garments worn by the Zulu King and Queen during this past Mardi Gras \u2014 showcasing not only their striking visual impact, but the <\/p>\n<p>NEW ORLEANS \u2014 A new exhibit at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art is giving the public a rare, up-close look at one of the most iconic traditions of Carnival.<\/p>\n<p>The exhibit features the ceremonial garments worn by the Zulu King and Queen during this past Mardi Gras \u2014 showcasing not only their striking visual impact, but the craftsmanship and cultural significance behind each piece.<\/p>\n<p>The designs were created by New Orleans fashion designer Sylvester West, who says his goal was to elevate the look of Zulu royalty while honoring tradition.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe inspiration behind the looks are real royalty,\u201d West said. \u201cI wanted to bring out the beauty in New Orleans\u2026 something upscale, something new.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>West\u2019s journey into fashion started at just 12 years old, experimenting with whatever materials he had on hand.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI used to pick up that glue gun with one glue stick left and just start putting things together,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m pretty amazed at how things turned out.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Now, his work has evolved into high-end, custom designs \u2014 including the garments worn by this year\u2019s Zulu King, Dr. Ron Tasson.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was exciting,\u201d Tasson said. \u201cHe gave Zulu another episode of how kings and queens look\u2026 it was just exhilarating to actually feel his clothing on.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The exhibit highlights the intricate details of the garments \u2014 from beadwork to structure \u2014 while also telling a broader story about legacy, representation, and the evolution of Black Carnival traditions in New Orleans.<\/p>\n<p>The exhibit is free to the public and located inside the museum\u2019s gift shop, making it accessible without a ticket. It\u2019s open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Visitors can see the display now at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art.<\/p>\n<p>                                            &#13;<br \/>\n                                                &#13;<br \/>\n                                                    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"video__modal-close-icon\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wwltv.com\/assets\/shared-images\/icons\/close-menu.svg\" alt=\"x\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\"\/>&#13;<br \/>\n                                                &#13;<\/p>\n<p class=\"video__modal-message\">To stream WWL TV on your phone, you need the WWL TV app.<\/p>\n<p>                                                        <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"video__modal-thumbnail\" src=\"\" alt=\"\"\/><\/p>\n<p>                                                        Download the WWL TV app<\/p>\n<p>                                                            <a class=\"video__modal-app-link video__modal-app-link_type_ios\" href=\"https:\/\/apps.apple.com\/us\/app\/new-orleans-news-from-wwl\/id1453203460?ls=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">&#13;<br \/>\n                                                                <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wwltv.com\/assets\/shared-images\/icons\/badge-app-store.svg\" alt=\"Download on the App Store\" width=\"120\" height=\"40\"\/>&#13;<br \/>\n                                                            <\/a><br \/>\n                                                            <a class=\"video__modal-app-link video__modal-app-link_type_android\" href=\"https:\/\/play.google.com\/store\/apps\/details?id=com.doapps.android.mln.MLN_d6bcd10196773d6203b7e9b10e53fea3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">&#13;<br \/>\n                                                                <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wwltv.com\/assets\/shared-images\/icons\/badge-google-play.svg\" alt=\"Get it on Google Play\" width=\"135\" height=\"40\"\/>&#13;<br \/>\n                                                            <\/a><\/p>\n<p>                                                &#13;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The exhibit features the ceremonial garments worn by the Zulu King and Queen during this past Mardi Gras&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":197219,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[9,24,63,122,124,123],"class_list":{"0":"post-197218","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-queens","8":"tag-new-york","9":"tag-new-york-city","10":"tag-nyc","11":"tag-queens","12":"tag-queens-headlines","13":"tag-queens-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/197218","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=197218"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/197218\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/197219"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=197218"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=197218"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=197218"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}