Image via Getty/Alexander Tamargo
On Feb. 16, Tremaine Emory was named the creative director of Supreme. It marked the first time the VF Corp-owned streetwear giant had publicly confirmed an external hire for the position. Thus, it was a move that was celebrated by many, and rightfully so.
Emory has a proven track record of using clothing as a vehicle for meaningful storytelling. His brand Denim Tears makes various references to the Black experience. A 2021 project with Champion paid homage to the Black activist and choreographer, Alvin Ailey, for example. Perhaps the most notable items thus far have been his Cotton Wreath jeans with Levi’s. The cotton wreaths printed across each pair are a reference to slavery.
“The world kinda don’t need more clothes. So, I think clothes should have some type of meaning, a reason why,” Emory tells Complex about his motives for communicating these types of messages through his clothing. It is this mindset that has people excited about what Emory will create at Supreme, a brand that has often referenced various areas of Black culture with its collections but not always completely followed through on educating the consumer about those touchpoints. “I thought making clothing about the plight, glory, all parts of being part of the African diaspora was a good place.”
Emory’s future with Supreme is something everyone is still curious about. Not much has been said aside from the initial announcement by either party. But it isn’t the only thing Emory is working on right now. At the top of the month, he debuted his latest Denim Tears collection, an offering consisting mainly of jeans and striped rugby sweaters bearing imagery like Black Jesus and peace signs made of cotton. This past weekend, Emory joined BMW in the desert for the first weekend of Coachella alongside a handful of other ambassadors to celebrate the unveiling of a custom BMW iX car wrap inspired by Doja Cat’s Planet Her.
While Emory was unable to speak on his new role with Supreme, the designer did have a moment to talk with Complex at the event about his thoughts on using the term “streetwear,” the success of his Cotton Wreath denim, his essential items, and more. Check out the full conversation below.
(This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.)
What comes to mind when you think about BMW?
When I think BMW, it was an M6 in my neighborhood [in Jamaica, Queens]. It was like a unicorn. You didn’t see loads of nice cars where I grew up. There was an M6, a black one, that would be parked on Farmers Boulevard. I don’t know whose it was. I don’t know if it was LL [Cool J’s], cause he’s from my neighborhood, or if it was a hustling dude. But the first thing that comes to my mind when I think of BMW is that blacked out M6. It was beautiful. It was tinted out and sometimes you’d see it driving around the neighborhood. BMWs were always those cars that stood out when you saw ‘em because a lot of people didn’t have ‘em, especially where I was from. I also think of my friend Ferris Bueller. He’s the first person I knew personally to have a BMW.
Your Cotton Wreath Levi’s have been very popular. What are your thoughts on how well they have been received thus far?
I’m just grateful that I have the opportunity to talk about what the cotton wreath represents. So I’m grateful to Levi’s and grateful to people that spend their hard earned money on my art. That’s pretty much the thing. The whole idea is to have as many people wearing something that represents the plight of the African diaspora, African Americans. I tell that story. So it’s beautiful to see all kinds of people wearing it, white kids, Asian kids, Black kids, Spanish kids. It’s beautiful to see all types of people wearing something that represents that.
What inspired you to communicate that message through fashion?
The world kinda don’t need more clothes. So, I think clothes should have some type of meaning, a reason why. I thought making clothing about the plight, glory, all parts of being part of the African diaspora was a good place.
You can keep telling different stories. So, the cotton wreath is about slavery and how America was built off of the slave trade and cotton. But then I did a collaboration with Alvin Ailey and Champion and talked about one of the most foremost dance creators in the history of dance. My Uggs collaboration is about Black Seminole native heritage. I’ll never run out of stories. There’s an infinite well of stuff to talk about. And that’s any culture. Whatever culture you’re from, if you decide to make movies, or clothing, or write a book, or whatever, there’s an infinite amount. That’s what Denim Tears is all about. It’s all out there. If I haven’t read it or know about it, I can find it. Really, I like to find experts and people that have lived it and then connect with them. I learn from them and help tell the story of what they’re about.
What do you think is missing right now in streetwear?
Females. There’s not a lot, besides Cactus Plant Flea Market, how many brands are there led by females? So, I think in general, in every aspect of society, there should be more females doing stuff and participating in it. I would say that’d be the main thing, just getting women involved. I’ve collaborated with Cactus Plant, Cynthia [Lu]. She’s one of my best friends. I’m doing more stuff with her. There’s other women I wanna work with.
I’m personally not huge on the word “streetwear.” It’s all clothing. I get why it’s given a different name. I get why everything has to have a title, but it’s kind of like people do art and then there’s folk art. Why isn’t it just all art? But then my friend Acyde said he’s proud of the word streetwear ‘cause it’s a community, whereas like let’s say fashion, Paris, it’s like competition. It’s not so much togetherness. So I feel him on that.
Let’s put it this way, I like the word “streetwear” if it’s people from our community, our scene, talking about it. When it’s outsiders talking about us, just call it clothing. If you don’t really understand that shit, don’t call it streetwear. As my friend Kim Jones says, really it’s ready-to-wear, couture, and sportswear. And all that shit you wear in the street. You go to the Met Gala wearing couture, your driver opens the door and you step out into the street in a couture dress. Sportswear, you wear it on the street or on the field or in the gym. Ready-to-wear, no matter how much it costs, whether it’s Zara or Bottega, you wear it on the street. You walk the street. London, Paris, Tokyo, Milwaukee. So when people who aren’t from this scene call it streetwear, I don’t really mess with that. But if it’s like, Acyde, James Jebbia, whoever, they wanna call it streetwear and they’re proud of it, cool. Nigo, Cynthia, [Shawn] Stussy, cool. But when it’s outsiders, they don’t know us and don’t love us. They’re only speaking about us because now it’s something that’s making money. Oh, they want to do stuff that we do because they’re trying to move units. I don’t really want them commenting on it. That’s my thoughts on streetwear and the state of it. It’s kind of in a weird state because of the way it’s being perceived and appropriated by high fashion. But then, still, the people who do it are still seen as “other.” But yet you guys are putting out sneakers like us, you guys are putting out sweats. You see Celine doing sweatpants with a huge print on it. That’s not really Hedi [Slimane], but they’re trying to tap into that thing.
But what streetwear needs is more participation from women and also thinking about eco, thinking about how we can make this stuff better. Where are you getting your cotton from? Because again, we don’t need any of this stuff. They’re saying we got 50 years, 70 years before some type of calamity is gonna happen. And this is like our last chance to do something about it. And one of the biggest polluters is clothing and the manufacturing of clothing. So, besides involving women, since streetwear is becoming so big, motherfuckers who are making it really need to think about the effect it’s having on the environment, agriculturally, environmentally. And also on who’s making it. Are people who are making your clothing getting paid well and treated well? I gotta think about that. I’m making clothing talking about slavery. Well, hopefully no indentured slave is making my clothing or it’s a total contra-fucking-diction. So even myself, I could just speak about myself, not judge anyone else. I gotta keep looking into who’s making my clothing, how’s it being made, how’s the stuff shipped. Instead of the plastic bags, use biodegradable bags. There’s so much stuff to tap into to do better. So really, that’s what’s needed in the space of streetwear: inclusion and the environment.
Any under the radar brands you’re into right now?
Bstroy. It’s ran by my guys Dieter and Brick. They’re from Atlanta. They’ve been living in New York for about eight years to a decade. They’re just an amazing fashion brand in the lineage of Helmut Lang, Margiela, and all that stuff. They make meaningful clothing, beautiful clothing, and well-made clothing. There’s always intention behind it. And sometimes it’s esoteric and you need to talk to them to get the meaning behind some of the clothing. But I urge anyone into fashion and clothing to check out Bstroy.
What are your three essential items in your closet?
There’s this T-shirt me and my friend found in a vintage store back in like 2006. It’s actually funny I’m not wearing it now because I’ve worn that shirt probably thousands of times. It has the solar system on it, but it’s knitted. It’s a black T-shirt with the Milky Way knitted on it. It’s my favorite clothing item I think. I’ve worn it so much. It’s on its last days.
Then there’s this sweatshirt, I don’t wear it no more, but I got it from this brand called SSUR. It has Black Jesus on it. I got it from a store called Union back in like 1999, 2000. My man Vito held it for me until it went on sale. But he did this series of sweatshirts and M65s. One had white Jesus and one had Black Jesus and you could choose which one to buy. I remember the conversations and interactions I’ve had wearing it. Certain conversations would be on the E train. Certain conversations would be in the hood. Different conversations would be on Jamaica Avenue. Different conversation on Fifth Avenue. Different conversation in the Colosseum Mall. So, that’s probably one of the only items I still have from that era of my life. I always held onto it for some reason. And that shirt is one of the inspirations for the iconography I made for my brand, Denim Tears. It’s white Jesus, but he’s Black-washed.
My other item is my Homer bracelet that I bought from Frank Ocean. He’s a good friend. I was really proud to go there and buy it. I just know what it took for him to make that line of luxury jewelry. It’s just dope to go spend an exorbitant amount of money with a Black person. All the diamonds are lab-grown because he doesn’t want to get involved in the collateral damage of digging diamonds out of the Earth and the human damage that comes with that sometimes, no matter how intentional you try to be about getting diamonds from the right place. So, I just thought it was incredible. It’s someone I’ve known for a long time. He’s an incredible writer, musician, and performer. To see him do something else at the highest level, from the packaging, to the catalog, to the store, I was just blown away.
Do you have a favorite live music experience?
There was this guy Jon Brion who worked with one of my favorite artists of all time, Fiona Apple. Before Covid, he did a weekly show at the Largo in LA. He’s just an amazing musician. He’s a savant. He can play every instrument. He can sing. He can write. He’s worked with Kanye. He executive co-produced Late Registration and Graduation, several of the albums. He’s done the soundtrack to Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. He’s done amazing stuff. So anyway, I went to the show and he has these little things where he just starts building the song. He starts on a ukulele, then he’s over on the piano, and he’s looping it. He’s building it. And you don’t know where it’s going. Then, several minutes later he goes into “More Than This” by Roxy Music. It was just one of the most beautiful live music experiences I’ve ever had.
If you were on a big screen and the whole world was watching, what would your message to everybody be?
No one cares about any of the shit you think people care about. Think about a funeral. Nobody talks about anything other than if the person made them laugh or loved them. Worry about that shit. All this other shit, they don’t talk about at your funeral. I’ve been to loads of funerals, unfortunately. They just talk about if you’re funny, you helped them out, was a good friend, a good brother. All this other shit, even the stuff I find myself caring about, it doesn’t matter.