The Kerby Jean-Raymond era at Reebok is coming to an end.
Early Thursday, the designer revealed that he will depart as global creative director of the sports brand on March 1. That date is shortly after the Reebok acquisition by Authentic Brands Group is expected to be finalized.
Jamie Salter, chief executive officer of ABG, told WWD that Jean-Raymond’s contract with Reebok expires at the end of February and the decision was made by Reebok not to renew before ABG made its purchase agreement, and ABG maintained that position.
However, Salter stressed that the parting is amicable and he would be open to working with Jean-Raymond in the future — at Reebok and potentially other brands within ABG’s portfolio.
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“Kerby’s leaving on great terms,” Salter said. “We like him and we’re not cutting ties with him. If he has great ideas, maybe he’ll do a collaboration with us.”
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But the focus for ABG once it finalizes its 2.1 billion euro acquisition of Reebok from Adidas at the end of this month is “to let Reebok be Reebok,” Salter said. “Reebok hasn’t been Reebok for a long time. It’s been under Adidas for 15 years and whatever they had that was good, Adidas took from them. Reebok was always an afterthought.”
He said that strategy was “exactly what Adidas needed to do” as the larger company, but it ultimately hurt Reebok. “As the new owner, we’re going to spend 100 percent of the time on Reebok and not share anything, starting March 1,” he said.
“Reebok has a very strong trajectory right now and there are a lot of iconic silhouettes that we need to bring back,” Salter added. In addition, “We will continue to bring in celebrity designers as part of our growth strategy.” Over the years, Reebok has worked with Ariana Grande, Cardi B, Victoria Beckham, Gal Gadot and others.
Jean-Raymond, the designer of Pyer Moss, officially joined Reebok in 2017, and during his tenure, he led the creative team in unifying the brand’s direction. “I enjoyed my time with Reebok and wish the company well in all of its future endeavors,” he said in a statement. He was not available Thursday to comment further.
“We want to sincerely thank Kerby for his many contributions to Reebok,” said Reebok president Matt O’Toole. “The positive impact he has made on the brand will be felt for years to come. We wish him the very best.”
A Reebok spokesperson said Thursday that the brand had no further comment about whether Jean-Raymond would be replaced, but it did say the final Reebok by Pyer Moss-Collection 4 will be released in late March.
Jean-Raymond started working with Reebok on a co-branded footwear collection, Reebok by Pyer Moss, in 2016 and in 2019 was named artistic director of Reebok Studios, a new division created to support emerging talent. In 2020, he was named vice president of creative direction for Reebok, where he worked closely with the brand’s product, global marketing and development organizations to ensure consistency across all areas. He was also at the forefront of the brand’s Product With Purpose program, which is part of Reebok’s commitment to United Against Racism.
Since launching Pyer Moss in 2013, Jean-Raymond has been a vocal proponent of social justice and Black empowerment, using his collections to tell stories about activism and to evoke dialogue. He won the CFDA’s Menswear Designer of the Year award in 2020 and the top prize in the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund awards in 2018. He was also Harlem Fashion Row’s Designer of the Year in 2020 and the first Black designer to win a spot on the Paris Couture Week calendar, but he has always followed his own rhythm with runway shows. A spokesperson for the designer said Thursday that, while Pyer Moss will not be showing during New York Fashion Week next week, he does plan to participate in the second half of the year.
Jean-Raymond’s name has also come up as a potential successor to Virgil Abloh at Louis Vuitton. His spokesperson had no comment on the rumor. Abloh, the founder of Off-White and artistic director of Louis Vuitton, died from cancer at the age of 41 in November. A spokesperson for Louis Vuitton said the company had no comment on the speculation.
Fashion designer Kay Unger, who started mentoring Jean-Raymond at the age of 14, said Thursday that he is very happy about the decision to move on from Reebok. “He is a really smart guy and he has some wonderful things planned for the future. It’s his choice. He has really good control over his life. He only wants to work on things that he’s passionate about,” she said.
As for whether the designer is in the running for Abloh’s former job at Vuitton, Unger said she had not discussed that with Jean-Raymond. “Everyone wants him to be the next Virgil, but he’s got his own path….I know everybody is probably thinking about that. But no, I have no information about that,” she said.
She praised Jean-Raymond for his leading involvement with the Kering-backed “Your Friends in New York,” a 16-month-old platform designed to help the next generation of innovators and for his “very quiet” approach to that initiative. “He has a lot on his plate and he is doing great work,” Unger said.
Contributions by Rosemary Feitelberg