Kerby Jean-Raymond links with Kering to create new Your Friends in New York innovator platform

By

Godfrey Deeny

Published
Sep 10, 2020

Kerby Jean-Raymond and Kering have announced the creation of Your Friends in New York, a novel new platform designed to empower a next generation of innovators.

Your Friends in New York plans to merge fashion, music, art, philanthropy and wellness “to form an eco-system of creativity that reimagines how consumers discover and interact with brands, including Jean-Raymond’s own brand, Pyer Moss,” the New York designer and the giant French luxury group explained in a release Thursday.

The concept was dreamed up by Jean-Raymond, and set in motion after a meeting with François-Henri Pinault, Chairman and CEO of Kering, in 2019. Your Friends in New York had been scheduled to launch in March 2020, but delayed its birth due to the global pandemic.

“It is important to me to create and work on ventures that are future forward, involve the community at large and that will continue to help others grow in the fashion and art space,” explained Kerby Jean-Raymond, the single most exciting new designer to have emerged in the New York in the past few years.

Your Friends in New York, or YFINY, will consist of multiple divisions including an event and experiences arm, an incubator inspired program, philanthropic initiatives, and a merchandise label, expressing the wide ranging interests of Jean-Raymond, a Haitian-American who won the 2018 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund award.

“When I met Kerby in 2019, I was impressed by his unique perspective of creativity, innovation, business and social issues. What struck me immediately was his willingness to invent a new, singular model, freeing himself from the usual constraints of the fashion system. It was only natural for Kering to support this project that seeks to empower new artistic talents, to encourage the diversity of creativity and to give a voice to the younger generation of innovators,” added François-Henri Pinault.

Your Friends in New York first mobilized in March 2020 with a personal donation from Jean-Raymond as part of the organization’s mission to aid marginalized communities impacted by the pandemic. Kering aided YFINY’S COVID-19 relief efforts with a supporting donation.

Moving forward, Your Friends in New York will also  focus on supporting local communities, by providing mental health services for children and residents of public housing.  This new platform will also serve as the next evolution of Pyer Moss fashion show.