Designer Tremaine Emory on Validation in Consumer Culture

Tremaine Emory is a visionary fashion designer. Once the creative director at the streetwear brand Supreme, he co-founded his own brand, Denim Tears, which aims to tell the stories of the African Diaspora through fashion. His work has been recognized widely for its bold originality and counter-cultural drive. In this episode, Emory talks about the psychology of how we validate ourselves in consumer culture; the layers of history held in terms of Black self-identification; and what it means to reshape the world into a place visibly different and more aware than it was before.

LANGUAGE ADVISORY: This episode contains strong language, including the use of the n-word during the second half of the episode in the context of a conversation about the word and different perspectives on the appropriateness of its use. Listener discretion is advised.

Scroll below to learn more about the artists and references that came up in conversation:

Supreme: An American clothing and skateboarding lifestyle brand established in New York City in April 1994. Supreme is recognized for its influence on streetwear culture, with products that cater to skateboarding and urban fashion trends.

Denim Tears: Founded in 2019 by designer and aesthete Tremaine Emory, each collection tells a story, revealing what the brand’s founder calls the African Diaspora. Denim Tears’ approach to heritage and design has earned its place in The Met Costume Institute in New York’s permanent collection.

Jim Crow: Name of the racial caste system that operated primarily, but not exclusively, in southern and border states, between 1877 and the mid-1960s. It was a series of rigid anti-black laws that relegated African Americans to the status of second-class citizens by legitimizing anti-black racism.

James Jebbia: An American-British businessman, fashion designer, and former child actor. He is the founder of Supreme ad UNION.

UNION LA: Jebbia (along with his then-partner Mary Ann Fusco) opened up UNION in 1989. It was far from the purveyor of sub-rosa Japanese brands, Marni, with influences from hip-hop.

The Sandlot: A 1993 American coming-of-age sports comedy film co-written, directed, and narrated by David Mickey Evans. It tells the story of a group of young baseball players during the summer of 1962.

Boyz n the Hood: A 1991 American coming-of-age hood crime drama film written and directed by John Singleton in his feature directorial debut. Follows the lives of three young males living in the Crenshaw ghetto of Los Angeles, dissecting questions of race, relationships, violence, and future prospects.

The Wire: An American crime drama television series created and primarily written by former police reporter David Simon. The show explores Baltimore, Maryland's drug scene, as seen through the eyes of drug dealers and law enforcement.

Jam Master Jay: An American rap musician and producer who was a member of Run-DMC, the first rap group to attract a worldwide audience. The group is credited with bringing hip-hop into the cultural mainstream.

George Floyd: A Black man whose videotaped death under the knee of a white police officer sparked protests in 2020, including some of the largest street demonstrations in U.S. history. 

bell hooks: An American scholar, author, poet, feminist, cultural critic,