Pyer Moss' Kerby Jean-Raymond Will Be the First Black American Designer To Show at Paris Haute Couture Week

Kerby Jean-Raymond, creative director of New York-based label Pyer Moss and the CFDA’s 2020 American Menswear Designer of the Year, will be the first Black American designer to unveil a haute couture collection in Paris this summer.

The Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode announced that Pyer Moss will appear on the official calendar as a guest member for the upcoming Haute Couture Week in July, in a statement to WWD. The “undisclosed event” marks a grand return to runway for the brand, which recently announced it would also return to New York Fashion Week in September for its first show in two years.

Each season, the Chambre Syndicale de la Couture invites fashion houses who do not possess haute couture’s extensive qualifications — which include designing made-to-order pieces for private clients with multiple fittings, operating out of an atelier with at least 15 full-time staff members, employing more than 20 full-time technical workers and presenting a collection of at least 50 original designs twice a year — to present a couture line on the official calendar.

Additional guest members on the Fall 2021 roster include Aelis, Aganovich, Azzaro, Christophe Josse, Georges Hobeika, Imane Ayissi, Julie De Libran, Rahul Mishra, Rvdk Ronald Van Der Kemp, Yuima Nakazato, Ulyana Sergeenko and Zuhair Murad.

Haute Couture Week is scheduled to take place from July 5 to July 8 in Paris. The event will host in-person audiences in accordance with “specific health protocol” and “measures determined by public authorities,” the Fédération said in a press release. Additionally, each presentation will be streamed online on the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode’s digital platform.

Last month, Jean-Raymond spoke with Fear of God‘s lead designer Jerry Lorenzo about his experience working with adidas and his transition to an independent design team for Interview Magazine.