When Tremaine Emory became the creative director over at Supreme, fans were excited to see what he would bring to the table. However, rumors about his discontent with the company soon began to surface. For weeks now, there has been this sense that Emory was about to leave the company. Overall, it was just a matter of time before an announcement was made. That said, no one could have expected the fallout we got today as Emory took to social media with his story.
In the Instagram post below, Emory says he left Supreme due to systemic racism in the workplace. He cited the lack of designers who were people of color, as well as the attitudes of those in charge. Emory even posted a photo of the book White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism. He claims he told the higher-ups at Supreme to read it “for a better understanding of what systemic racism is and how is affects people of all color’s who live in this white male patriarchal system that was built to only benefit white heterosexual males since the inception of America and even further back into European colonialism.”
Tremaine Emory Speaks
Subsequently, Emory posted text messages that he had with Supreme's brass. He wanted to construct a joint statement on his departure. Emory was adamant that Supreme must acknowledge their alleged systemic racism, but they refused to do so. One of Emory's examples of the brand's misdeeds is their attitude towards his Arthur Jafa collab. Although Supreme claims this collab is still in the works, Emory says they struck it down due to “depiction of black men being hung and the freed slave Gordon pictured with his whip lashes on his back.” Emory also spoke with Supreme's James Jebbia, but didn't seem happy with the alleged runaround he got.
More Text Messages
Needless to say, this is a big controversy for Supreme. Emory is getting support on social media, although he is also getting some pushback. It remains to be seen how Supreme will respond to these allegations. Give us your thoughts on all of this, in the comments section below. Additionally, stay tuned to HNHH for more news and updates from around the streetwear world.