Kerby Jean-Raymond is, most likely, one of the names that have been blowing up the most in the last few seasons inside the world of fashion. After all, this world is each time mirroring more and more our current worries and concerns, which is why nobody should be surprised by the rise of this designer and his brand Pyer Moss, which have gone hand in hand in participating in causes like #BlackLivesMatter specifically and, in general, fighting for the rights of the African American community inside the historic moment we’re living with Trump’s governmental administration.
KERBY JEAN-RAYMOND, REEBOK’S NEW REVOLUTION
Kerby Jean-Raymond has become an indispensable name to understand the fashion world’s concern around the problems surrounding the African American community in the last few seasons… And, now, to crown things off, the designer is taking his revolution to none other than Reebok.
Watch out: Pyer Moss’ Spring/Summer collection’s theme in the year 2016 was precisely the #BlackLivesMatter movement and, on top of that, 20% of the earnings coming from one of the brand’s bestsellers, which is a t-shirt which reads Stop calling 911 on the culture, have gone to an organisation called the Innocence Project, known for fighting for the freedom of all of those who have been unjustly imprisoned by the North American judiciary system based on practices like the fraudulent use of DNA tests. Just as Jean-Raymond says: Pyer Moss is not a brand, it’s rather a live platform that is destined to fight for social change and the rights of the African American community.
The most powerful way in which he has manifested this is, however, by showing a daring, eloquent and fascinating approach to the luxury world in the world of fashion. In just a matter of years, Pyer Moss has become a celebrities’ favourite, but also the spoilt kid of a specialised press that has seen in the figure of Kerby Jean-Raymond the perfect excuse to talk about sociopolitical subjects that go from police violence to the negative perception around migration, as well as the inevitable addiction to drugs. In Pyer Moss there’s fashion. No question about it. But this type of fashion can be particularly dangerous as it could be seen as an intellectual weapon.
It’s no surprise then that this year Jean-Raymond won the very exciting prize of the ever visionary CFDA / Vogue Fashion Fund Award. And, it’s also no surprise that Pyer Moss has taken a break (highlighting the threat of being an entity that is working under its own convictions, beyond the fashion world’s) which, curiously, has coincided with the truly surprising announcement on behalf of Reebok, a brand he’s been collaborating with since 2017: the creation of Reebok Studies___, a new division inside the company that has been thought of like a radar for new trends that is run by Jean-Raymond. Something that, at the same time, sounds like a revolution for Reebok as well as a new opportunity for the designer to continue to explore fashion’s possibilities as a platform for social change.
