Kerby Jean-Raymond

Kerby Jean-Raymond (born 1986) is a Haitian American fashion designer, the founder and creative director of the New York label Pyer Moss. Quotes No. Not at all, I didn’t want to be political in my work. I also didn’t want anyone to know me. I didn’t start the brand to become a famous fashion designer. It happened over time. I’ve always been political in other ways, I just never crossed Pyer Moss and that part of my life until 2015. I believe fashion is an art. In 100 years, when people dig this up, they should be able to tell or piece together a story about what this time was like. My canvases that are discovered long after I’m gone should at least give the viewer some insight into what my life was like and what fueled me. That’s why I feel like right now, the hot topics are social justice. We are having this movement of enlightenment where everyone is trying to get their fair share in this world. We have an insane and tremendous responsibility right now to make sure this movement stays on its legs and moves forward. So I’m using my medium to do that. The concept came when my friends and I were leaving a bar after playing basketball in Long Island. We saw this guy in an American flag tracksuit. All of us crossed the street, and when we were driving back to Brooklyn, we talked about why we did that. Why does it feel threatening? We were all born in America, and for whatever reason, none of us felt like we were part of America. It’s the divisive nature of politics and the rhetoric that we’re seeing on the news. As we got older, people were pulled in different directions. You see how everyone’s school changed everyone’s demeanors. Some people joined gangs. Suddenly your friend doesn’t mess with you anymore and they’re trying to pick fights on you because you wore a blue shirt instead of a red shirt. I was into hip hop brands, but once I got to Barneys and that 50 percent discount, my style really changed. I got into Marni, Acne, Margiela, Yohji. When all of the kids wore Rocawear, I’d come in slim jeans. They would make fun of me at first, but then they would all try to buy what I had the next summer. They didn’t have the discount, so it didn’t work out. Everyone would agree that I was the flyest kid in my neighborhood. A lot of times in fashion, the conversation about diversity is confused with the conversation around inclusion. What I try to do is lead by example and show what inclusion means, which is not overlooking people because of their race. When I first came into the industry, it was openly biased in that you didn’t work with this guy because he doesn’t look the part. I completely rejected that system and said, I’m just going to take the people who typically wouldn’t get the job because it’s going to mean that much more to them. It’s not like we exclude anyone – we do have white people who work with us as well. It’s just a conscious effort to go out and pick the people who typically get passed over for opportunities. And it’s been working for us. I hope Pyer Moss shows other designers how to convert commerce to conversation. Use this space and this time allotted for us, however fleeting it may be, to communicate a message. Cause we need more of that. We don’t really need more bags and shoes. We need more stories. In the Studio with Kerby Jean-Raymond of Pyer Moss-CFDA(2 November 2018) Everything I’ve done has been personal. Black people are portrayed tragically too often. I want to show things in another way. I’m lucky - I could’ve been blinded. I started working not out of choice, but necessity. My dad would give me $10 each morning, and that was it for food for the day. Being in Manhattan opened up my eyes. I saw what was possible. I’d had a gun held on me before, but this was the first time I thought they’d shoot. I felt like I had nothing to lose. Black people have been at the heart of so many things that people think of as ‘white. Black people deserve to be patriotic, too. Founder Of Pyer Moss Has Big Plans To Deliver His Mighty Vision Of US Fashion To The World-BRITISH VOGUE(9 May 2019) Category:Fashion designers Category:1986 births Category:Living people