The Wall Street Journal - 03.09.2019

Thelabel’s founder Kerby Jean-Raymond gains a following by breaking fashion’s rules

BYRAYA.SMITH

Kerby Jean-Raymond in the New York studio of his fashion label, Pyer Moss. He has dressed stars such as Tracee Ellis

Ross, below. Mr. Jean-Raymond sketches, at right, and organized his Sept. 8 show line-up with drawings, below left.

TO MOST PEOPLE,“Doctor

Zhivago” means Julie Christie as

Lara and Omar Sharif as Yuri in

the swoonily romantic 1965 film.

Fewer people know the true story

of passion, espionage and propa-

ganda behind the publication of

the Boris Pasternak novel on

which the movie is based.

The tale is reimagined in “The

Secrets We Kept,” in which first-

time novelist Lara

Prescott uses fiction

to fill in the blanks in

the real-life events.

Inspired by a trove of

CIA documents about

the original novel’s

publication, Ms.

Prescott crafts a

cloak-and-dagger

story that moves be-

tween Pasternak and

his lover, Olga Ivins-

kaya, and undercover

female CIA agents

helping to smuggle

the book into the Soviet Union in a

propaganda campaign.

The novel comes out in the U.S.

on Sept. 3. Knopf paid close to $

million to publish it, according to

a person familiar with the deal,

and the book has been sold in 30

countries. The production com-

pany The Ink Factory has bought

the film rights.

The spark for Ms. Prescott’s

novel came after she learned about

declassified CIA documents that

formed the basis of a 2014 nonfic-

says of her current Zhivago-related

success.

Much of the book is told from

women’s perspectives, with Olga

narrating her own story. Pasternak

created an idealized Lara, inspired

by Olga, but Ms. Prescott wanted

to create a flawed, believable char-

acter. “With the movie, you’re

thinking of this pure soul, this

beautiful woman, Julie Christie,”

Ms. Prescott says. In Pasternak’s

novel, Lara is “just too good for

this world. But looking at a muse

from a male perspective is very

different than trying to think of

how it was to be that woman.”

“Secrets” moves back and forth

between sections labeled East and

West. On one side are Boris and

especially Olga, whose story in-

cludes her forced march to the Gu-

lag and years in prison. In the

West are two invented female

agents, and a group of all-seeing

women CIA typists—sparked by

Ms. Prescott’s reading of the

agency documents. “I was wonder-

ing who typed these documents,

who knows these secrets behind

the redactions?” she says.

The characters in the East are

historical, and Ms. Prescott says

she mostly adhered to facts in tell-

ing the story of Ivinskaya and Pas-

ternak, whose love affair was the

model for Lara and Yuri’s in

“Zhivago.” Using Ivinskaya’s auto-

biography, Pasternak’s letters and

other historical sources, “I tried to

use their own words as much as

possible,” Ms. Prescott says, al-

though she imagines more inti-

tion book called “The Zhivago Af-

fair” by Peter Finn and Petra Cou-

vée. Earlier histories had written

that in the 1950s, Ivinskaya tried

fruitlessly to get the Soviet author-

ities to allow publication of

“Zhivago,” which they considered

subversive. But the CIA documents

reveal that the agency printed and

smuggled it into the U.S.S.R., sur-

reptitiously handing copies to So-

viet tourists visiting the Vatican Pa-

vilion at the Brussels World’s Fair.

Ms. Prescott, a 37-

year-old former politi-

cal consultant for can-

didates including Rahm

Emanuel, read the CIA

documents, which have

been posted online.

“Working in political

campaigns inspired my

interest in how people

use words and attempt

to change the hearts

and minds of citizens,”

Ms. Prescott says. “The

CIA was playing this

very long game

through soft propaganda,” hoping

that getting “Zhivago” into Russian

readers’ hands and exposing Soviet

censorship might “spark future dis-

sent,” she says.

She had long been captivated by

the Zhivago story, watching the

movie and reading the novel count-

less times growing up in Greens-

burg, Pa. Her movie-loving parents,

an internist and office manager,

even named her after Lara. “My

mom is certainly taking credit.

She’s like, ‘It’s fate,’” Ms. Prescott

BYCARYNJAMES

‘Doctor Zhivago’ Intrigue Reimagined

mighthave filled during that

time,” Ms. Prescott says. Using

books as political weapons might

seem out-of-touch today, but Ms.

Prescott sees a connection to the

present. “Words are so powerful,

even if it’s not books. Tweets and

social media are now the tools of

propaganda throughout the

world,” she says.

mate scenes. The major characters

in the West are all invented. Sally

is a femme fatale working with the

wartime OSS, a predecessor to the

CIA. Irina, born in the U.S. to Rus-

sian parents, disguises herself as a

nun to hand out copies of

“Zhivago” in Brussels. The charac-

ters were “inspired by real life

spies, or the roles that women

TREV

OR PAULHUS

Lara Prescott wrote much of her debut novel from women’s perspectives.

S

INCEFOUNDINGhis

clothing label Pyer Moss

(pronounced Pierre Moss)

in 2013, Kerby Jean-Ray-

mond has defied fashion’s

conventions. Last September, he

wowed the industry with a runway

show in Brooklyn on the grounds

of a 19th-century free black com-

munity, featuring black models and

a gospel choir. Mr. Jean-Raymond’s

rumination on everyday black

life—as well as his high-concept,

socially conscious designs—made

him a star.

A few months later, he won a

prize sponsored by the Council of

Fashion Designers of America and

Vogue for promising designers.

But in a surprise move, he decided

not to present a runway show the

next season or release clothes ac-

cording to fashion’s traditional cal-

endar. It was his way of rebelling

against a system that can burn out

designers by demanding new col-

lections every few months.

While some observers worried

the 32-year-old Mr. Jean-Raymond

would lose momentum without a

high-profile presentation at New

York Fashion Week in February, his

absence instead seemed to stoke

interest in the coming show. CB

Rucker, Pyer Moss’s opera-

tions director, says the label’s

Sept. 8 event will be “emo-

tional.” The show at the Kings

Theatre in Brooklyn, where

the Haitian-American designer

grew up, is one of the week’s

most anticipated events. Here

are five reasons why:

Hedoesn’t play by the

fashion industry’s rules

Mr. Jean-Raymond threw

the industry a curve when he

decided against a runway

show in February. They didn’t

produce a show, Mr. Rucker

said, in part because they wanted

Pyer Moss’s Sept. 2018 collection

to register with fans before rush-

ing out a new one.

“He’s going against the grain,

basically saying, ‘I don’t need to do

that. I have my following and if

they’re ready to roll with me, they

will,’” said Sharifa Murdock, who

co-owns Liberty Fairs, a trade show

that spotlights new, contemporary

men’s fashion and lifestyle brands.

Pyer Moss aims to treat “collec-

tions as ideas and messages rather

than months on the calendar,” Mr.

Rucker said. The label presents

clothes when they are ready, flout-

ing the tradition of releasing

spring and fall collections every

six months. ““He’s forcing change

in the systems that just don’t work

anymore.” said Jennifer Minniti,

chair of fashion at Pratt Institute.

The college honored Mr. Jean-Ray-

mond with the Pratt Fashion Vi-

sionary award in May.

Last fall, Pyer Moss relaunched

its retail strategy, pulling out of

stores and building up its own e-

commerce site. Mr. Jean-Raymond

has since resumed selling clothes

through a number of brick-and-

mortar and online shops. “Our cus-

tomers resonate with Kerby’s

brand values and the message he

puts forth through his collections,”

said Federico Barassi, senior direc-

tor of menswear buying at Ssense,

a Montreal-based retailer.

Hehas his finger on the pulse

of contemporary culture

To the 70,000 followers of his

personal Instagram account and

131,000 of his label’s, Mr. Jean-

Raymond endears himself by being

down to earth and funny. On Insta-

gram recently, he raunchily chroni-

cled his unsuccessful efforts to get

a Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen

chicken sandwich.

Mr. Jean-Raymond celebrates

hip-hop music, black culture and

black style, which have all influ-

enced pop

culture.

“He reso-

nates because

he has such a

compelling

story that

comes from an

authentic per-

spective,” said

Jian DeLeon,

editorial direc-

tor of Highsno-

biety, a

streetwear-to-

high fashion

media brand. Seeing Mr. Jean-Ray-

mond in a prominent position in-

spires and validates members of

Highsnobiety’s audience, which in-

cludes many people of color, Mr.

DeLeon said.

Celebrities have taken notice

“The line, aesthetically, is al-

ways unique and designed well

and gives them that upper hand, in

dressing issues such as po-

lice brutality years ago.

“He’s been doing the same

thing for years...but people

are now taking note of it,”

she said.

Thelabel considers itself

an art collective

“We’re a team of photog-

raphers, filmmakers, weav-

ers, in addition to design-

ers,” Mr. Rucker said. “We

see apparel as just one of

many mediums that we use

to communicate.” In April

Pyer Moss released a collec-

tion, along with an eight-

minute, semi-autobiographical film

about Mr. Jean-Raymond’s child-

hood following the death of his

mother, and the women who helped

fill the void. “The messaging is not

just about the product. There’s

something personal,” said Steven

Kolb, president of the CFDA. “He’s

very into telling his story in a way

that relates to his customer base.”

Hecreates innovative,

statement-making clothes

Mr. Jean-Raymond mixes vibrant

colors, sharp tailoring on relaxed

suits, regal draping, and refined

sportswear, then overlays it with

black cultural references. His Sep-

tember 2018 show put portraits of

black families by artist Derrick Ad-

ams onto clothing and featured col-

laborations with Cross Colours and

FUBU, brands created by blacks in

the late ’80s and early ’90s. The

sneakers he designs with Reebok

have been a hit and Reebok re-

cently expanded the partnership.

terms of when they’re looking for

something special,” said Chris

Chambers, president and chief ex-

ecutive of public relations and

branding firm the Chamber Group.

Current and former clients of

Mr. Chambers, including actress La

La Anthony and rappers Future, Lil

Wayne and Gunna, have worn Pyer

Moss in the past year. “On top of

the aesthetics, there’s always a

powerful story behind the collec-

tion,” Mr. Chambers said.

Heappeals to millennials and

Generation Z

The designer’s outspokenness on

Black Lives Matter and his relation-

ships with activist DeRay Mckesson

and Nipsey Hussle, the late rapper

who championed black businesses

and communities, “definitely reso-

nates with our audience,” said

Highsnobiety’s Mr. DeLeon.

Ms. Murdock, an industry vet-

eran with a knack for spotting cool

labels, remembers Pyer Moss ad-

New York Fashion Week,

which runs Sept. 6-11, will feature

notable events as the city tries

to assert its relevance and cool

factor. The week will be shorter,

but jam-packed, underTom Ford,

the new chairman of the Council

of Fashion Designers of America.

Rihannawill host the second

annual show for her lingerie line,

Savage X Fenty.

After taking his theatrical, no-

expense-spared shows to Los

Angeles, London, Milan, Shanghai

and Paris,Tommy Hilfigerre-

turns to New York with an “expe-

riential runway event” at the

Apollo Theater in Harlem. It will

feature the designer’s second col-

laboration with actressZendaya.

Jason Wureturns to the cat-

walk after two seasons off from

runway shows to regroup amid

waning buzz and a changed retail

landscape.

Zero + Maria Cornejoand

Hyundai Motor Company will de-

but a sustainable collection made

from upcycled car-seat waste.

Coming Up

On the Runway

SA

SHA MASLOV FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL (3); BIRDIE THOMPSON/ADMEDIA/ZUMA PRESS (ROSS)

THEWALLSTREETJOURNAL. Tuesday,September 3 , 2019 |A

LIFE&ARTS

The Disruptor Building Pyer Moss