Kerby Jean-Raymond will step down as Reebok’s creative director after just 17 months in the role, he announced Thursday.
The Pyer Moss founder’s planned departure—currently scheduled for March 1—comes as Adidas, Reebok’s owner of 16 years, prepares to sell the sneaker brand to Authentic Brands Group (ABG) for $2.46 billion. That deal is expected to close by the end of the first quarter.
“I enjoyed my time with Reebok and wish the company well in all of its future endeavors,” Jean-Raymond said in a statement.
Jean-Raymond founded the New York men’s and women’s contemporary apparel label Pyer Moss in 2013 at the age of 28. His partnership with Reebok began a few years later with the debut of the Reebok by Pyer Moss line in 2017. In September 2020, the brand promoted Jean-Raymond to vice president of creative direction.
In that role, he was tasked with heading up all design disciplines for Reebok, working in tandem with its product, global marketing and development teams to implement his design strategy across all of the brand’s consumer touch points. A member of the senior leadership team, the native New Yorker reported directly to Reebok president Matt O’Toole. During his time at the company, Reebok said, he led the unification of the brand’s direction, resulting in “significant growth” in key categories.
“We want to sincerely thank Kerby for his many contributions to Reebok,” O’Toole said in a statement. “The positive impact he has made on the brand will be felt for years to come. We wish him the very best.”
When he stepped into his soon-to-be-former role, Reebok said the first products created under his direction would arrive this year. In July, it revealed that the first product line “influenced” by Jean-Raymond would debut in SS22. The first collection “driven entirely by his creative direction” was to arrive in SS23. On Thursday, Reebok said “the final offering from Reebok by Pyer Moss,” Collection 4, will arrive in late March.
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Jean-Raymond’s work has earned him industry awards and accolades, including 2020’s CFDA Award for American Menswear Designer of the Year and Harlem’s Fashion Row Designer of the Year. In 2020, he teamed with the luxury conglomerate Kering to launch Your Friends in New York, an incubator-style program designed to empower the next generation of creatives.
Jean-Raymond will not be the only talent leaving Reebok in the near future. Last week, the brand confirmed that it plans to lay off “approximately 150” workers in several departments—the “majority” in its Boston headquarters—ahead of its sale to ABG. The “across the board” cuts are to take effect when ABG and Adidas finalize the deal. O’Toole and senior vice president and general manager for product Todd Krinsky are expected to remain at the helm.