Aurora James and Kerby Jean-Raymond Are the Adults in the Room — Why the Fashion Industry Needs to Sit Up and Listen

They’ve got something in common — actually, this pair has many things in common. Four years ago, Aurora James and Kerby Jean-Raymond met at the CFDA’s Incubator program for emerging fashion-industry talent: Both were minority designers whose brands were built on social-consciousness — championing issues such as sustainability and racial equality. The pair immediately bonded over their likemindedness. “I came [into the CFDA program] and I was super happy that another Black person was there … At that point, I had grown tired of being the only one in the room,” Jean-Raymond said to James as they shared a conversation on the 14th floor terrace of Penske Media Corp.’s New York City HQ. “I was actually pleasantly surprised you were the type that spoke up, because so much of my experience in fashion with other Black people is that when I open up, I usually end up looking stupid because I’d be the only one who said something … [With you], I felt immediately protected and I felt camaraderie because we were not scared to ruffle feathers.” The conversation, part of which aired this evening as part of the first-ever virtual Footwear News Achievement Awards, marked a full circle moment for James and

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