Today’s episode is with Kerby Jean-Raymond, founder of the fashion brand, Pyer Moss. Hailing from East Flatbush, Brooklyn. Kerby has taken the hutzpah of self-resilience and toughness and has woven it into the fabric of what is now one of the hottest fashion brands.

Founded in 2013, Pyer Moss fashion shows have been revered as theatrical and emotionally moving and the must-see show of New York Fashion Week. He personally describes the brand as an “art project” or “a timely social experiment” which explores the depths of the cultural

origins of blackness.

In this conversation we discuss how his work in the fashion industry cost him his sanity (7:20), how Kerby leverages his fame for the freedom of Black peoples around the world, doing everything with the intent of centering black people (6:32), his tools for success and finally arriving at a place of self-love and acceptance (27:43). “I started to discern the difference between the person I was and the person I was pretending to be.” (10:37) The internal growth which lead him to figuring out what was right for him. “What was instinctively right for me was always talking about race, talking about politics, talking about things I actually cared about.” (11:34) We even discuss our own falling out a few years back. “I was constantly in contention with you, with everyone that was trying to force me to follow my instincts. You had it right the first time! You said that to me once.“ (13:14) —a topic even we hadn’t discussed until this interview. Recording during lockdown, this is Kerby at his rawest and most vulnerable.

Links we mention in the episode:

Pyer Moss: https://pyermoss.com (www.pyermoss.com)

Kerby's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kerbito/ (@kerbito)

Momentum Education: https://www.momentumeducation.com (www.momentumeducation.com)

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