Kerby Jean-Raymond to help black designers succeed

American fashion designer, founder of Pyer Moss and current creative director of Reebok, Kerby Jean-Raymond (aka @kerbito), has revealed his plan to help black designers. Want to know? Read on.

Under the name “Your friends in New York” (YFiNY) and with the aim of eliminating competition and comparison between designers of colour, Jean-Raymond has launched a plan with the Kering group (luxury brand conglomerate including Balenciaga, Gucci, Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta and others) to incubate talent by strengthening the next generation of black designers and turning them into profitable businesses and fashion stars.

On the other hand, Kerby’s action is a clear response to Silicon Valley’s accelerator programme, where the company helps with funding, production and planning, but does not own a stake in any of the individual brands, while YFiNY focuses on building the infrastructure for the brands, including brand protection, accounting and even therapy. In addition, all of these will receive a large subsidy and the concept is intended to be exported to cities such as London, Los Angeles or Hong Kong.

What do you think of this latest initiative by Kerby Jean-Raymond? We couldn’t be happier.

For more fashion news and current affairs, visit our website.