Tremaine Emory exits Supreme, alleges “systemic racism” at streetwear brand
Emory became Supreme’s first-ever Creative Director in 2021.
Tremaine Emory. Photo by Hippolyte Petit/Getty Images
Tremaine Emory, the first Creative Director of the storied streetwear brand Supreme, is no longer with the company. In a letter of resignation obtained by Business of Fashion, Emory wrote that he believed "systemic racism was at play in the structure of Supreme" and criticized senior management for an "inability to communicate," citing an allegedly canceled collaboration with video artist Arthur Jafa as a key factor in his decision to leave.
Emory's letter claims that Supreme did not give “full visibility for the reasons behind" the canceled collaboration, leading to "a great amount of distress" and feelings that racism may have been foundational to the dispute.
In a statement, Supreme denied that the Jafa project was canceled, and pushed back against Emory's allegations. "We strongly disagree with Tremaine’s characterisation of our company... This was the first time in 30 years where the company brought in a creative director. We are disappointed it did not work out with Tremaine and wish him the best of luck going forward.” The FADER has reached out to Supreme for more information.
Soon after the resignation letter was published, Emory began sharing what he claimed were text messages with Supreme employees. Emory claims to have "fought tooth and nail" with Supreme for a joint statement announcing his resignation that included a mention of "systemic racism" as well as an acknowledgment of the racial makeup of Supreme's design studio; Emory claims that "less than 10%" of designers are minorities.
In a subsequent post, Emory called Supreme's statement on his resignation "a lie to hide the systemic racism that lies deep within supreme and almost all white Owned corporations." He continues, "I wanted to work with supreme to change these things and instead I told I was racially charged, emotional, and using the wrong forum by bring[ing] 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."