Ex-Supreme creative director Tremaine Emory has maintained full focus on his clothing line Denim Tears.
Four years after founding Denim Tears, the designer and fashion influencer, 42, was profiled by GQ and discussed his sweatsuits, featuring his cotton wreath logo, selling out in 15 minutes. "I just want to see the cotton wreath, the symbol, that form, spread as far as possible into popular culture," Emory said.
The signature design, seen on stars like A$AP Rocky, Cardi B, Fat Joe and Lakeyah, was inspired by visual artist Kara Walker, who centers her work on race, violence, and gender in the antebellum South largely using silhouette techniques.
"Because every time someone wears it, there's another chance for conversation and discourse about the state of Black people, the state of America, the state of the world."
Emory, who married Andee Emory McConnell in October, has been outspoken about racism since announcing his exit from Supreme in late August. He elaborated on the decision in an interview with journalist and media personality Touré in September.
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“It was pretty much a struggle from the beginning," Emory told Touré, comparing alleged office politics at Supreme to Whac-A-Mole.
Before his departure, Emory was prevented from moving forward with putting an Arthur Jafa-designed image of a Black man being lynched on Supreme-branded items like t-shirts, hoodies, and skateboard decks.
"I wanted to work with Supreme to change these things, and instead, I was told I was racially charged, emotional, and using the wrong forum by bringing up systemic racism in a meeting when I was asked if we should work with a black, female artist whilst this Jafa project was secretly shutdown without anyone talking to me," Emory wrote in an Instagram post from August.
