About Denim Tears

Since 2019, Denim Tears has illustrated the full breadth of Black American history, offering unique perspectives on the voices and events that have shaped the African Diaspora, stylistically articulated by artist/designer and Creative Director Tremaine Emory.

Within each collection, artistic interpretations of personal experiences and collective history uncover overlooked yet highly influential narratives at the heart of the Black American experience. Provocative in its daring to cast light on these stories, Denim Tears references widely obscured knowledge to drive culture forward with uncompromising intention and design.

In its consideration of the historical contexts that continue to shape contemporary culture, Denim Tears has developed a singular perspective, featured in permanent collections and major exhibitions at renowned international cultural institutions including: the Denim Tears From the Black Pool of Genius exhibition at the SCAD Museum of Art and The Costume Institute at The Metropolitan Museum of Art Permanent Collection. 

Cross-seasonally, it has aligned with an extensive collaborative alumni encompassing Stüssy, Dior, Marc Jacobs, Arthur Jafa, & more.

In addition to its online retail space, Denim Tears operates from its African Diaspora Goods flagship stores in New York and Atlanta.

176 Spring Street, New York.

Lenox Square, 3393 Peachtree Rd NE, Atlanta

Tremaine Emory founded Denim Tears in 2019, with each new collection intended to tell a story that reveals another facet of the African Diaspora. Born in Atlanta, Georgia in 1981 and raised in Jamaica, Queens, New York, Emory utilizes the art of visual storytelling and clothing as a trojan horse for his gestures to traverse the intersection between fashion, music, and culture, while producing dialogue and awareness of the critical issues that define our complicated national inheritance and shared global history.

From his earliest output, Emory forged a fast-growing reputation as a visionary agent provocateur and counter-cultural catalyst. Amplified through creative playground No Vacancy Inn, co-founded with Ade “Acyde” Odunlami and Brock Korsan, his ability to widen the current cultural lexicon through collaborations centered on contemporary art are some of the most designative cultural touchstones to date, which have garnered him numerous positions, awards, and accolades.

His cross-generational group of collaborators and co-conspirators reads like a ‘who’s who’ of culture today: Theaster Gates, Hank Willis Thomas, Virgil Abloh, Frank Ocean, Andre 3000, and Serge Becker are among many others, just to name a few. Emory continues to constantly innovate and eschew traditional definitions and bounds of media or genre – a true conceptual artist.