Pyer Moss Designer Kerby Jean-Raymond is never one to sidestep large social and political issues. He famously created the viral ‘They Have Names’ t-shirt after the Mike Brown shooting, and created a ‘Juneteenth’ tee for brand fan Usher to perform on the 4th of July.
His designs show an awareness of black history and offer an understated yet poingnant indictment of current racial incidents.
So it comes as no surprise that the Haitian-American designer, who plans to debut womenswear for his Spring 2016 collection, has decided to tackle issues of race and racism with a short film during his upcoming presentation.
According to an article in the Washington Post penned by Robin Givhan, “With his own money, a video crew of friends and no definitive plan, [Jean Raymond] has been reaching out to an eclectic group of people, including his fashion mentor Kay Unger, Nicole Bell, whose fiance Sean Bell was killed by New York City police officers, Wanda Johnson, whose son’s shooting death was depicted in the film “Fruitvale Station,” as well as artists such as Kehinde Wiley, entertainers, sports figures including Victor Cruz, activists and writers.”
According to the Post, “The video is not meant to be confrontational or angry. It is not meant to be black people venting. “It’s not an attack,” Jean-Raymond says. “It’s like my version of ‘We Are the World.’””
I can’t wait to see what he comes up with!
We’ll keep you posted.
Read more about Kerby Jean Raymond and his upcoming project on WashingtonPost.com.