At Cup Match weekend, held annually on the weekend nearest to August 1st on the island of Bermuda, Bermudians gather to celebrate the 1834 emancipation of Black slaves on the island. Among its main events is a friendly cricket game between rival teams, Somerset and St. George’s, an epic turn up called Non-Mariners boat day, and a general sense of pride coursing through the island’s veins . It’s no wonder then that Pyer Moss designer, Kerby Jean-Raymond, chose that weekend as the backdrop for his latest creative shoot featuring Collection 2 “American, Also.” With a continuing a mission to show his collection in locations with predominately black audiences, Jean-Raymond chose the small island.
“We’ve focused on black Americans for the past three collections, and now the broader conversations of blackness globally,” Jean-Raymond told me over the phone. “After we went to Nigeria earlier in the year, I wanted to continue touring our collections and spreading that message of self-love, and pride in our accomplishments throughout history. We plan on continuing to show our collections, and re-show the runways in different markets that are predominately black, like we did in Nigeria and Haiti, and now Bermuda. Bermuda was the first stop for collection two, that was outside of the American market.”
While the weekend included three days of fun (all planned by Bermudian native and Hollywood stylist Shiona Turini), “the most clear takeaway from being in Bermuda was being in a space where we don’t have to worry about the angst of racism,” says Jean-Raymond. “I haven’t felt that since I’ve been to Cuba. I didn’t feel black, I just felt like a person. I think that’s the luxury of being around black people and being in and of your own.” He finished, “it’s a weird sensation to be free.”
Read on to learn more from Jean-Raymond about the shooting Collection 2.