Pyer Moss in Flatbush

To close off my season of New York Fashion Week, I attended the Pyer Moss Show at Kings Theatre in Brooklyn, NY (my backyard).  It was a highly anticipated show that brought all the A-List celebrities to Brooklyn.  It reminded me of that episode of Sex and the City when Samantha Jones brought all the Manhattan socialites to Brooklyn to see Smith Jared act in a local play.  This would be my first time attending his show.  The show was so good, it deserved its own post.  

Pyer Moss is known to bring storytelling, activism, and history to his collections and shows.  The brand was founded in 2013 by designer Kerby Jean-Raymond, who is from Flatbush and Haitian-American.  Being a fellow Brooklynite, I was curious to see his work.  Pyer Moss gave me more than I expected.  More than I ever got from any presentation during NYFW.  He gave me a PRODUCTION that left me SPEECHLESS.  He gave me a STORY through FASHION.  For his third collection, named “SISTER”,  Pyer Moss paid homage to Sister Rosetta Tharpe, who made an impact in music history as the inventor of Rock “N” Roll.  If one did not know anything about Sister Rosetta Tharpe, it surely resonated and stayed with every guest of his show by the end of the night.  Every aspect of the show connected far beyond the clothes.  

The show opened with a performance by Brent Faiyaz and a powerful speech by Casey Gerald that set the tone for what we were about to experience…. visually and musically.   The “Pyer Moss Tabernacle Drip Choir Drenched in the Blood”, a 71 all-black choir provided the most prolific and profound sounds to the show.  Models gracefully strut the runway while the choir sang hymns to Tina Turner’s “Proud Mary”, and even rapped harmoniously to Missy Elliott, Cardi B, and Meg the Stallion songs. It was the first time I ever witnessed something so amazing and literally gave me the chills. Vibrant colors with black and white, wearable art, mixed prints, and pleats galore were on display leaving guests in utter awe.  Multiple collaborations were introduced that night with Sean John and Reebok.  The final walk left me in tears as the choir sang the gospel hymn, “Lord Make Me Over”.  Never in my life have I shed a tear for fashion.  The Pyer Moss experience, as I see, did.

As a woman of color, from Brooklyn, and from Caribbean descent, I was honored to be inside Kings Theatre and witness fashion for our culture and by our culture.  I still get chills and I am still speechless thinking about the show.  This post may not give the show the justice it truly deserves.  You really had to be there to feel the power of Pyer Moss.