Denim Tears designer Tremaine Emory reportedly is no longer creative director of Supreme, according to reporting by Complex. Appointed to the role in February 2022, Emory was the brands first official creative director. It’s not known when Emory ended his role at Supreme but the fall ’23 collection is thought to be his final effort as creative director.
No official reasons for his departure have been shared, however, rumors first surfaced he had parted ways with Supreme back in April when Twitter user @ImTooRealForU claimed Emory was let go because he wasn’t a good fit. He subsequently tweeted that Supreme is “gonna be bringing in younger people to design so I’m hoping they make a come back.”
Emory in May visited Justin Richmond’s “Started from the Bottom” podcast where he revealed he had suffered from a debilitating aortic aneurysm in October 2022. During the episode, Emory spoke about his role as creative director Supreme and made no mention of ending his role at the brand.
In a recent exchange with Justsmile, Emory spoke about his ongoing recovery from the aneurysm, which he described as almost killing him. “I remember my first day outside. I was still in the hospital after my aneurysm, with a five percent chance of living. It was after an eight-hour surgery. Seeing the sun for the first time, when I never thought I’d see it again. I remember being in the ambulance on the way to the hospital, not knowing if I was going to make it.”
Perhaps alluding to his role at Supreme he added, “If you seek their validation because so and so made you creative director, you’re losing. In fact, you’ve already lost. But if you seek validation, firstly, in yourself and secondly, in the community that you care about and who cares about you, you’ve got a chance to live a life without regrets.”
In a recent post on Instagram, Emory posted a excerpt from the Justsmile interview addressing his design approach. Asserting his credentials as a Black creative, he wrote in the caption, “I paint the black experience on clothing, don’t ever come out ya dutty mouth and call anything that I do streetwear or anything less than art…I’m on my second life and that humble shit is out the window.”
