Get QuoteDark Inspirational Quotes App

" I grew up thinking my father was tacky. There was no color coordination. It was whatever was cool. 'These sweatpants are cool. I'll wear them with these shoes that are cool.' He had less inhibitions. I wasn't respectful of his swag then. "

Related Quotes:

" 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. "

Kerby Jean-Raymond

High School

School

Baseball

" The way I was raised, you get a new pair of sneakers when the old one gets messed up. But when I got to high school, I started dating girls and trying to fit in, and I realized everybody was collecting Jordans. When I would get my paychecks, I wouldn't even take money. I would just trade them for sneakers. "

" My dad used to give me old electrical equipment that didn't work anymore, and I'd put things together. I think that's why I like to mix things that don't belong. "

Kerby Jean-Raymond

Old

Work

" My dad was always so strict that I was scared to speak to him. Haitian parents are very, 'This is adults' business; this is kids' business.' "

" 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

" 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. "

" 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.' "

" 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. "

" If you put the collections together, whether it's Rick Owens, Alexander Wang, or whomever, sometimes they do streetwear, but they're never called that. They're always called 'sportswear' or 'high-end' or 'luxury.' I feel like I'm tossed into that streetwear category so that I don't exist in this space. "

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

" The world absolutely needs your voice. "

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

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

" 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. "

" I think that when you rally powerful voices around powerful issues, what you get are positive results. "

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

" 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.' "

" Our first fiscal year, we were profitable. "

" 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. "

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

" 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.' "

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

" I design for social media. My customer reads blogs, is on social media, so I design with contrast in mind. An all-black shirt looks good on the shelf but not online. "

" My earliest memories of defying my parents were through music. I remember rap being banned in my house, and then getting a Cam'ron album. "

" I hope that people who don't believe depression is a real thing will stop calling people crazy, because that's dismissive and not a medical diagnosis. "

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

" I grew up in East Flatbush, Brooklyn. At the time I was growing up with my father - before it was gentrified - it was a very rough neighborhood. He felt that if I got into or started embracing the rap culture, I would be one step closer to being on the streets. "

" I've always felt like an outcast. My aesthetic is very high-end, but I still get classified as streetwear. There's really no other reason for than other than my age, the way I look, and where I'm from. "

Kerby Jean-Raymond

Always

Look

" 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?' "

" All my collections are based on something I like or something I'm dealing with. They are always deeply personal. "

Kerby Jean-Raymond

Dealing

Deeply