Tremaine Emory on Denim Tears, Virgil, Kanye, and Leaving Supreme | Idea Generation

Designer Tremaine Emory sits down with Noah Callahan-Bever to discuss his rise from retail worker at J Crew, to landing in Kanye West’s inner circle, to building his own brand, Denim Tears, using Champion blanks.

Emory also breaks down his falling out with Kanye, what went wrong during his tenure as Supreme creative director, and how a near-death experience made him rethink his legacy.

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Chapters:
0:00 - 1:21 - Intro
1:21 - 2:49 - Influence of his parents
2:50 - 4:47 - Collabs with Champion
4:48 - 6:07 - Teen years and understanding the world
6:08 - 6:43 - “How do you know when to pivot?”
6:44 - 7:13 - College and dropping out
7:14 - 8:18 - Retail job at J.Crew
8:19 - 8:56 - Opportunity to work at Marc Jacobs
8:57 - 9:30 - How customer interactions changed his thinking
9:31 - 10:50 - History behind the Denim Tears store
10:51 - 11:24 - Relocating to London
11:25 - 11:51 - Getting laid off from Marc Jacobs / Meeting Frank Ocean
11:52 - 12:15 - Meeting Virgil Abloh
12:16 - 12:40 - How to tell a good idea from a bad idea
12:41 - 13:55 - How DJing set the stage for brands like (Off-White, JJJound, etc.)
13:56 - 14:17 - Going to work on his own
14:18 - 15:10 - Connecting with Kanye
15:11 - 15:54 - Virgil’s advice on how to navigate working with Kanye
15:55 -16:24 - “What is success?”
16:25 -17:08 - Building confidence to provide Kanye feedback
17:09 -18:17 - Ending his partnership with Kanye
18:18 -18:54 - The importance of failing
18:55 -19:39 - Hosting parties to doing products and collabs
19:40 - 21:18 - How Denim Tears was born
21:19 - 22:51 - Origins of the cotton wreath
22:52 - 24:17 - Champion Alvin Ailey collab
24:18 - 25:12 - How preserving culture leads to the creation of culture
25:13 - 25:40 - How he made his retail space interesting
25:41 - 27:14 - Becoming creative director at Supreme and what went wrong
27:15 - 27:47 - “What is your ultimate creative goal?”
27:48 - 29:10 - Respecting legacy but also questioning it
29:11 - 29:29 - Health scare and reassessing approach to work
29:30 - 30:37 - Champion Creator Program
30:38 - 31:01 - “Do you ever doubt yourself?”
31:02 - 32:29 - Success in your 30s
32:30 - 34:07 - Getting sick and how it changed him
34:08 - 34:36 - “What’s the most important idea you’ve ever had?”
34:37 - 37:18 - The Future


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