Kerby Jean-Raymond of Pyer Moss noted: “The biggest fear I had was that once you start speaking as an activist, people start trying to pigeonhole you to that." His fall/winter 2016 show was unmistakably political in its critique of American police brutality and the resulting fatalities. He does explain, however, that it is impossible to not embed his own reality into his creations: “For me, it’s like, what’s real for you? I’m not getting inspiration from things I’m not experiencing," he says. "I’ve done things in the past…I would make certain statements that I didn’t really relate to me and it felt more fake. [Now] I use my personal experiences and I use my personal stories to create art. I appreciate and stand by it more.”The most counterintuitive aspect, though, is the expectation that a Black designer should be standing for and producing items that speak for an entire race. There is no one person or brand that should have to fully encompass the experience of all Black people, nor should any one Black designer's success negate the challenges that people of color still face trying to break into fashion. While, of course, all work by Black designers isn't specifically a statement about their Blackness, their very presence in the industry does make a statement about placing value on diversity. Whether selling Black Lives Matter T-shirts or crafting couture, they are there, claiming space and creating.Racism hurts everyone — yes, even the majority — and so there’s room for anyone to contribute to the dismantling of it. One of the best things we can do to improve race relations and contribute to inclusivity is to increase representation. If we provide more diversity in visible or powerful positions, there is hope that attitudes toward people of color will become more accepting. And that means celebrating the differences in cultures and perspectives, without simultaneously viewing them as an “other,” or a specialty or alternative in a field — especially when that field is worth about $1.2 trillion globally , as the fashion industry is today.To be Black is to shoulder many burdens we did not ask for. There are the Eurocentric beauty standards meant to keep you out of the ranks and the systems built around your expected failure, but there is also a centuries-old fire inside that bets on your survival (or — better yet — your success). Blackness is a thing that still needs defending and to be unapologetically shared with the world — and so clothing, self-expression, is activism. And that's how the industry will continue to be moved to a more inclusive place, with these designers embracing Black Lives Matter in their own ways: by designing, and mattering, and asserting their place and pride in their work, whether it's branded with a certain slogan demanding those things or not.