Pyer Moss F/W 16

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Whether or not fashion shows are effective grounds for really, actually, engaging the industry with forthright statements of discord still remains a question to be answered, regardless, designer Kerby Jean-Raymond returned to his political timbre for Pyer Moss’ F/W 2016 collection. Sometimes designers whisper, and sometimes they yell, but rarely do they have something to say. Jean-Raymond does all three. It was just a collection ago where the clothing quoted the unnerving slogan of the anti-police brutality protest, “I can’t breathe”, setting the tone. With the latest collection, this time styled by Erykah Badu, the narrative continues in real time as does the strife of the Black Lives movement and black life in america in general. The collection was again steeped in hard-to-miss references such as “My demons won today, I’m sorry”– activist MarShawn McCarrel’s haunting last Facebook post before his suicide outside the statehouse in Columbus, Ohio. But there were also plenty of the less matter-of-fact, seemingly proposing the sinister toll of it all, done so by fashion frills like graphic fonts that read “Side Effects May Include”, “Why So Blue” and “Suffer No More” along with campaign buttons that were printed with sad-faces and anti-depressants like Xanax, Zoloft, Prozac or party drugs of the same nature. Their reference would suggest Pyer Moss intended to tackle the psychiatric effects of a life-long, and often enigmatic, battle with society. With statements that take defiant province in the forefront, it’s easy to forget that there were also clothes being presented, not only a call to action. But still, most everything played its role from the uniform caps the models donned, a style associated with law enforcement, to the turtle necks and their history with radical academics. Functioning streetwear like snowsuit jumpers were paired with big shearling and fur coats that hearkened to the 70s, and of course, the Badu glasses added the final touch of poignant collectivism.

Text Steven Yatsko | Images Casey Vange

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