Tremaine Emory stepped down as creative director of Supreme, alleging systemic racism after the clothing brand mishandled a collaboration with filmmaker Arthur Jafa.
In a lengthy post shared to Instagram Thursday, the designer explained that he “fought tooth and nail” to get the Supreme execs to agree with him on a statement to issue the press about his sudden resignation.
Emory claimed he couldn’t “align on a statement that doesn’t cite systemic racism.”
“l left supreme because of systemic racial issues the company has from the treatment of the arthur jafa collab to the make up of the design studio that has less than 10% minorities working when the brand is largely based off black culture,” he wrote.
Emory said he was asked to tell Complex Magazine that “a racist incident didn’t happen and if they report that we can’t put out a statement with you because that will be the story,” which he said he “refused” to do.
Emory also shared an Instagram post from Bimma Williams, which listed Supreme as a company that “profits off black culture,” but has a “white supremacy issue.”
In a statement to Pvnew, a spokesperson for Supreme said: “While we take these concerns seriously, we strongly disagree with Tremaine’s characterization of our company and the handling of the Arthur Jafa project, which has not been cancelled.
“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.”
Emory began working as Supreme’s creative director in February 2022. During his tenure, he released two collections.
He has also collaborated with several A-listers in the fashion and entertainment worlds, including Kanye West, Frank Ocean and André 3000.
According to the New York Times, Emory served as the “All of the Lights” rapper’s creative consultant and brand director for two years.
However, he and West, 46, fell out in October 2022 after the Yeezy Season 9 fashion show, during which the Grammy winner courted controversy by sending models in “White Lives Matter” T-shirts down the runway.
West later poked fun at his former collaborator by wearing a white tee printed with “Tremendez,” his nickname for Emory. The shirt also featured a drawing of the Denim Tears fashion designer with his mouth being covered by a hand clad in stars and stripes.
