And just like that New York Fashion Week is fun again. On Tuesday, March 13, Pyer Moss announced it would return to the runway with its first showing following its highly-acclaimed Collection 3 presentation at Kings Theatre in Flatbush, Brooklyn in 2019. Designer Kerby Jean-Raymond will present Collection 4 the second week of September, per a press release.
Jean-Raymond’s last collection was the third and final installment of “American, Also,” a three-part series exploring what it means to be Black in America. Lesson One was introduced February 2018, telling the untold stories of Black cowboys, Lesson Two explored “What does a mundane Saturday look like when we’re just left alone? What is Black leisure wear?” The series concluded two years ago with Lesson Three, titled “Sister” in Kings Theater in Brooklyn’s Flatbush neighborhood and from the opening monologue that referenced The People Could Fly, a book of Black folklore my mother used to read to me when I was younger, to the 19 songs transcribed to sheet music so that the 75-person choir could fill the 3000-person theater with renditions of Anita Baker’s “Sweet Love,” Cardi B’s “Money,” Missy Elliott’s “Sock It To Me,” and Tonéx’s “Make Me Over Lord,” the accomplishments of Black women were celebrated on a grand scale.
Pyer Moss began in 2013 as “timely social experiment” but continues to redefine itself combining storytelling, activism, debate, theatre, nostalgic themes, and social commentary. “What I’ve figured out is how to combine all of my passions at Pyer Moss,” Jean-Raymond explained in 2019. “The only thing I haven’t figured out yet is cars. I’ve figured out how to put poetry, writing, film, fashion into the brand.” The designer also said inclusivity shapes his brand’s DNA. “I want to be remembered for uniting people through all of these different mediums. I think if you look at Pyer Moss, it’s really just a communication tool. You don’t really see it until you’re at our show or pop-ups, and then you’re like damn. I say it to my team all the time, how do you create a safe space for all these people who felt ostracized from fashion for such a long time?”
