(PHOTOS) Pyer Moss Pays Homage to Black Inventors at Historic Paris Fashion Week Show

Not even lightening, thunder and rain could stop Pyer Moss from making its historic debut at Paris Couture Fashion Week with an extravagant show that paid homage to Black inventors through high fashion.

The Pyer Moss Couture 1 show was originally scheduled to be held 48 hours earlier in Irvington NY, just 30 miles north of New York City at the former estate of hair-care magnate and a self-made millionaire Madame C.J. Walker, but was rescheduled due to inclement weather.

Despite the delay, the show delivered on the anticipation that preceded the event—Kerby Jean-Raymond, founder and designer of Pyer Moss, becoming the first Black-American invited to show at Paris Couture Fashion Week.

The unveiling over the weekend of his first couture collection was well received by the fashion critics and celebrities in attendance, who hailed the show has highly imaginative, visually audacious as it blurred the lines between fashion and art with its tribute to the Black inventors often who are often overlooked by history.

Among the fashions used to highlight Black inventors included the peanut butter dress, which was a nod to George Washington Carver’s peanut inventions; a stunning hot roller cape and the hot comb dress that paid tribute to Madam C.J. Walker’s famous invention. Other famous inventions of Black Americans receiving a tribute at the Pyer Moss show included the air-conditioning unit, a kitchen mop and a typewriter.

The show also featured more than fashion, there were also dancers, a performance from New York drill rapper 22GZ, a string section, and remarks from Elaine Brown — activist, writer and a former leader in the Black Panther Party.

A seat to the show was the hottest ticket in town with many notable celebrities attending, including Tracee Ellis Ross, designer Byron Lars, social media star Slum Weirdo and the rapper ASAP Ferg.

See photos from the Pyer Moss Couture 1 show as well as video replay of the show below:

(Photos from AP)