In celebration of New York Fashion Week 2018, EBONY will explore our favorite Black designers, models and trailblazers of the rag trade.
Pyer Moss debuted its spring/summer 2019 collection during New York Fashion Week, utilizing the art of style to share politically charged and poignant messages that are sure to resonate long after the last model steps off the runway.
Designer Kerby Jean-Raymond spoke to The New York Times about the collection, which he presented in Brooklyn’s Crown Heights neighborhood at the Weeksville Heritage Center, a historic site commemorating one of the first free African-American communities of the 19th century.
“I had 20 people last season, but this I time I saved a bit and stepped it up,” Smith shared. A 40-person gospel choir scored the style-driven evening.
Jean-Raymond’s previous collection was inspired by his perception of America from a Haitian immigrant’s point of view. The designer continues his examination of Black American life in latest collection, American, Also: Lesson 2, addressing the “present-day moment of people calling the cops on black men having a barbecue” by exploring what “black American leisure looks like.”
Smith also presented his collaborative collection with FUBU (For Us By Us), telling Hypebeast the streetwear label never received it’s just due during the height of their success in the 1990s.
“These companies grossed hundreds of millions in their prime, but weren’t recognized in the same way that brands like Donna Karan were because they were considered urban, not fashion.”
Check out more from Pyer Moss’ spring/summer 2019 collection below.