Kerby Jean-Raymond is a Haitian American fashion designer who is the founder of the menswear label Pyer Moss.

Kerby Jean-Raymond
Born
NationalityHaitian-American
EducationHofstra University
LabelPyer Moss

Career

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Kerby Jean-Raymond first came into the spotlight for his presentation of Pyer Moss' Spring 2016 Menswear Collection during New York Fashion Week. The show highlighted police brutality, referencing the Black Lives Matter movement through videos, street art, and fashion. Jean-Raymond has publicly commented about his experience as a teenage victim of driving while black.[1] Kerby Jean-Raymond collaborated with R&B singer and activist Erykah Badu, who styled Jean-Raymond's Pyer Moss AW16 line for the 2016 New York Fashion Week show.[2] The featured collection was titled "Double Bind."

His brand, Pyer Moss, won the FGI Rising Star Award in the menswear category in 2014. That same year, he was a finalist in the DHL Exported Prize presented by IMG Worldwide. He was recognized by the Forbes "30 Under 30" list in 2015. Jean-Raymond was featured on Cultured Magazine's fashion issue cover in April 2019.[3]

During Paris Fashion Week in February 2019, Odell Beckham Jr. wore a Pyer Moss Collection 2 hoodie. Others seen in Pyer Moss include producer Swizz Beatz, Kiandra Layne, Gabrielle Union-Wade, Colin Kaepernick[4] and First Lady Michelle Obama.[5][6]

In September 2020, Jean-Raymond was named Global Creative Director of Reebok[7] sportswear brand. His label Pyer Moss was also awarded the top prize at the fifteenth CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund awards that same month.[8] In March 2022, he departed Reebok.[9]

Background

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Listed in Forbes 2015 "30 Under 30" in Art And Style,[10] Jean-Raymond began designing at a young age. He landed his first apprenticeship at 14 while still attending The High School of Fashion Industries in Manhattan. He started his first fashion label, Mary's Jungle at the age of 15.[11] Taught by Kay Unger, Jean-Raymond worked on Unger's first women's evening collection.[12]

He launched Pyer Moss in 2013.[13] Jean-Raymond uses his brand to address racial tensions in the United States and intertwine social issues with the fashion world. He describes his brand, Pyer Moss, as an "art project" or "a timely social experiment" at times.[14]

References

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  1. ^ A powerful show brought “Black Lives Matter” to the runway at New York Fashion Week
  2. ^ Dazed (2016-02-13). "Erykah Badu on art, activism and her NYFW debut". Dazed. Retrieved 2017-10-10.
  3. ^ "Pyer Moss Isn't a Fashion Brand It's a Life Raft". Cultured Magazine. 2019-04-11. Retrieved 2019-04-13.
  4. ^ "TIME 100 Next 2019: Kerby Jean-Raymond". Time. Retrieved 2020-08-19.
  5. ^ "17 Celebrities Wearing Pyer Moss Prove This Brand Is For Everybody". KOLOR MAGAZINE. 12 February 2015. Retrieved 2020-08-19.
  6. ^ History, Future Black. "Future Black History". Fuse. Retrieved 2020-08-19.
  7. ^ Huber, Eliza (30 September 2020). "Reebok Taps Kerby Jean-Raymond Of Pyer Moss As Global Creative Director". www.refinery29.com. Retrieved 2020-10-12.
  8. ^ "CFDA". cfda.com. Retrieved 2020-10-12.
  9. ^ "Pyer Moss Founder Kerby Jean-Raymond Departs Reebok". GQ. 2022-02-03. Retrieved 2023-02-06.
  10. ^ Adams, Susan (April 24, 2015). "Forbes' 30 Under 30". Forbes.com. Archived from the original on January 6, 2015.
  11. ^ Miller, M. H. (2020-03-05). "The Designer Changing How We Think About Fashion and Race in America". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-08-19.
  12. ^ Marquez, Mark (September 12, 2013). "Pyer Moss Is Killer". mi.lk.
  13. ^ "Official Pyer Moss Website".
  14. ^ "About". Pyer Moss. Retrieved 2022-10-06.

Further reading

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