The creative director of Supreme abruptly resigned, citing 'systemic racism,' which the brand denied
- Tremaine Emory is exiting streetwear giant Supreme.
- Emory cited "systematic racism" among his reasons for leaving the brand.
Tremaine Emory is leaving his role as Supreme's creative director after a year and a half in the position.
Emory's departure from the streetwear brand was announced on Thursday. In a resignation letter viewed by the Business of Fashion, Emory cited "systematic racism" and what he said was a lack of minority employees among his reasons for leaving.
In an Instagram post, Emory said he and Supreme executives disagreed over a collaboration with artist Arthur Jafa.
The designer alleges Supreme pulled the plug on releasing T-shirts depicting a Black man being lynched and the infamous photo of Peter (formerly known as "Gordon), a freed man with gruesome scars on his back from the brutality of slave owners. Emory said the Jafa project "was secretly shutdown without anyone talking to me."
Supreme gave a different account of events in their statement to Business of Fashion.
"While we take these concerns seriously, we strongly disagree with Tremaine's characterisation of our company and the handling of the Arthur Jafa project, which has not been cancelled," Supreme said in a statement to BoF. "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 alleged he "fought tooth and nail" with Supreme execs to "align with them on a statement to the press explaining that l left Supreme because of systemic racial issues the company."
Over the years, Emory has worked with Ye and the late Virgil Abloh on their respective brands, and he founded his own brand, Denim Tears, in 2019.
Supreme was established in 1994, and it's popular among skateboarders and the hip-hop community.
It was acquired by VF Corporation, which owns Vans and Timberland, for about $2.1 billion in 2020.