Recently, Tremaine Emory, former creative director at Supreme, publicly announced his resignation from the popular streetwear brand. Emory’s departure comes as he highlighted concerns about systemic racism within Supreme, alleging that the company’s culture favored the voices of white employees over those of non-white employees.
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On August 30, 2023, Tremaine Emory publicly announced his resignation from Supreme. According to Emory, Supreme employed fewer than 10% of people of color, which he believed contributed to the marginalization of non-white voices within the brand.
An incident that particularly sparked controversy was the removal of a product featuring images of a lynching, done without consulting Emory, leading to a disagreement. In an Instagram post, Emory shared screenshots of a text conversation he had with Supreme’s founder, James Jebbia after a meeting about the axed Jafa collaboration. Emory’s caption revealed that he was not consulted about the scrapping of the project.
Emory also addressed his feelings of being treated as a “mascot” rather than a true creative leader within Supreme during an interview with the Washington Post. This sentiment greatly influenced his decision to resign.
With Supreme known for its secretive nature and cool image, Emory’s departure has brought significant attention and negative publicity to the brand. Owned by VF Corp since 2020, Supreme’s acquisition for $2 billion, Emory’s resignation, and the ensuing controversy may impact the brand’s value.
Supreme has already experienced a decline in revenue, with a 7% drop from 2022 to 2023, raising questions about its performance under new ownership. Responding to Emory’s resignation, Supreme expressed strong disagreement with his characterization of the company and the handling of the Jafa project. In a statement to Business of Fashion, Supreme stated:
“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, despite his resignation, holds hope that Supreme can improve and address the issues he raised while still maintaining its brand identity.
In 2022, Tremaine Emory called out Kanye West in one of his Instagram posts. The then-Supreme curator after the latter had had enough of Ye’s recent disruptions to the fashion world and gone on Instagram to blow off some steam.
In reference to resigning over belief differences, Patrick Krason, the campaign treasurer for Kanye West’s 2024 presidential campaign, resigned amid accusations of campaign finance violations and submitting falsified invoices against campaign manager Milo Yiannopoulos. This highlights the complexity of resignations in high-profile situations and the impact they can have.
