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" All clothes are worn on the street, but 'streetwear' had once described T-shirt brands and skate-inspired brands, and now it's just a lazy innuendo used to describe clothing made by designers that the establishment deems 'less than.' "

Kerby Jean-Raymond

Clothes

Now

Lazy

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" We're always ready for a pick-up game. I walk through the park on the way home every day and just think to myself, 'I'll take on any of these kids.' "

" If you're on the fence about speaking your truth or sharing your world with a greater audience, don't be. We need each other badly. "

" I wanted to be a sneaker designer since I was 10; it was my dream to work at Nike and design signature shoes for Michael Jordan and Penny Hardaway. When it was time to select high schools, I wanted to go to one that would help me get a jump-start on my dream. "

Kerby Jean-Raymond

Design

Help

" We don't need to go back in time and make America great again, because really, America was only great for certain people. "

" We need to think forward and keep making America greater. Not that old America, again. "

" I'm desperately trying to unplug. The last thing I want is a watch that connects to my phone which connects to my iPad that connects to my computer that airplays to my TV. "

" 'Bernie versus Bernie,' for me, is these two extremes of capitalism. It's Bernie Sanders, the ultimate socialist, and Bernie Madoff, the ultimate capitalist. "

" I don't think the narrative I was stuck in - the 'black' designer category - was going to go away anytime soon. "

" If I'm going to be the black designer, I'm going to tell it my way. "

" There were times when gangs would approach me, but my father was way stronger than them. They would come make threats and stuff, and I was like, 'You don't know the opposition I've got upstairs. I'm not scared of you.' "

" Think about how much fashion profits from black culture and how underrepresented we are in the industry. If you insist on using black celebrities to peddle your merchandise and add a cool factor to your front row, it is indecent to not care about the plights of that person's community. "

" Systemically, there hasn't been an oppression more overt and long-lasting than economic oppression against black people and minorities in this country. "

Kerby Jean-Raymond

Oppression

People

" I've never seen Ralph Lauren, Rick Owens, or Raf Simons described as white designers. They are just designers. "

" I played baseball, was on the basketball team in high school, did crew at Hofstra, and randomly played ultimate frisbee, too. But none of the organized teams I was on were anywhere near as competitive as the games on the street. "

" You have these megabrands who make most of their money off hip-hop culture. Where were they in the time of need? "

" All it took was one conversation to know that Reebok was the right home for our team. "

" Music has always been my first love, and I appreciate how a great musician can bring awareness to tough issues through their work. "

" In my shows, I always try to incorporate music because it's the most natural way to set a tone. So if I want to do a show about depression, I use the opera. If I want to do a show about greed, I use spoken word. If I want to do a show about the injustice that's taking place in the world, I might play Sam Cooke. "

" In September of 2015, I did the unthinkable: I used my second-ever runway show to bring awareness to the Black Lives Matter movement. It was the hardest thing I've ever had to do professionally. It was lonely. "

" A lot of us who are creative and have all these great ideas just don't have the money to do it. "

" I came back from Standing Rock, and one of the things that struck me was their respect for elders. It was something that I felt like I needed to work on in my life. "

Kerby Jean-Raymond

Respect

Work

" With things that I'm going through, whether they be on a small scale or a large scale, I'm thinking, 'Who else is going through this? And how can I address it and bring it to light to help someone else?' "

" I was going to college on a full scholarship. I graduated summa cum laude. I was always on the dean's list. I was never a kid that started any kind of trouble. "

" Financing is always the hard part, especially if you don't have friends or family to back you, which was my case and the case for most designers. "

" The work of black creatives seems to always get undermined in one way or another, and that's what this new generation is actively changing by speaking up. We aren't accepting group categorization and group classifications to describe our work anymore - it just leads to group dismissal. "

" We're constantly having to go head-to-head with the Bernie Madoffs of the world who just want more and more money. "

Kerby Jean-Raymond

World

Want

" I don't know which was the first love - music or fashion. "

" Our first fiscal year, we were profitable. "

" A president's power is limited. We need to vote down the ballot as well, from your councilman all the way up to your governors and congressman. "