16 September 2023

Denim Tears designer Tremaine Emory interprets black biker culture with symbols representing Native America and the African diaspora for Levi's new collection

This week saw the launch of the new 'Levi's® X Denim Tears' collection designed by former Supreme creative director Tremaine Emory. Denim Tears founder and designer Tremaine Emory, who has already collaborated with prestigious brands - most recently Dior in July 2023 - introduces the collection, which offers a glimpse into American history through fashion pieces that reference the African diaspora and Native American symbols. The pieces feature the white cotton wreath print on leather jeans, fringes on Levi's signature sawtooth shirt, and the collection's signature pharaoh symbol, which references "the idea and resonance of Afro-Futurism and legend," as the designer explains on https://denimtears.com/at/stories/levis-season-3.

Tremaine Emory founded Denim Tears in 2019. It's not the first time the designer has collaborated with Levi's. Pieces from the brand have already been added to the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum's Costume Institute, including an ensemble designed for Levi's. The new collection of 10 denim and leather pieces is inspired by authentic black biker culture, as well as America's past and future.

Images, from left: Leather cotton wreath jeans, Western cowboy shirt, Longest Ride Tee with pharaoh print. The Levi's® X Denim Tears campaign was shot in authentic locations with models from the black biker community. The collection launched on 14 September 2023.