As Reebok‘s global creative director, Kerby Jean-Raymond is out to make a change. A newly independent Reebok is heading in a new direction with Jean-Raymond at the helm, and its first major project under his purview is here.
Reconnect is a nearly 12-minute-long short film overseen by Reebok’s new artistic marketing director, Jide Osifeso, brought on board by Jean-Raymond himself. The video is indicative of Reebok’s revamped presence, produced by the in-house creative team that Osifeso now leads. Reconnect‘s dreamlike presentation and deep respect for Black identity speaks to the way that Osifeso’s team and director Jonas Lindstroem are reshaping Reebok’s identity, blending elements of community and sport drawn from Osifeso’s own upbringing.
“The opportunity for someone like myself to contribute to a company with such a rich heritage is special,” said Osifeso in a statement. “The film series was made for people to derive their own meanings. I wanted to explore forward movement — literally and figuratively — and on a macro level, the idea that life is not a spectator sport as we should always strive to make the most of every moment in our journey through life.”
“I’ve been blessed to have three to four creative partners in my life and Jide is one of them,” Jean-Raymond continued. “He’s the genius who’s been behind your favorite geniuses. We speak the same language and care about the same audience.”
Additional Reconnect vignettes will roll out on social media in the coming weeks to further explore Reebok’s reshaping, leading up to a global brand campaign in time for Spring/Summer 2022. That season will debut the first product line “influenced” by Jean-Raymond, Reebok says, with the first collection “driven entirely by his creative direction” introduced in SS23. Reebok and Jean-Raymond’s long-term vision stands in stark contrast to the speed at which creative directors are digested and spat out by the apparel industry, speaking to an approach that’s perhaps more intentional than the average creative partnership and more involved than the pair’s collaborative sneaker drops.