Nobody does fashion history like Tremaine Emory.

In February 2026, about six months ago, Denim Tears founder Tremaine Emory told Highsnobiety in an exclusive interview: "There are a million choices to make when you're making clothes, that's why I love the anchor of a story. It helps really narrow down the choices." It's a philosophy the brand has backed up again and again, telling stories the fashion industry often leaves out. The latest chapter is Denim Tears' Fall/Winter 2026 collection, made in collaboration with the estate of the late André Leon Talley; the first apparel collaboration the estate has ever authorized.

For Tremaine, storytelling doesn't stop at the garments. Telling the full story requires casting people who helped shape it in real time - and are still shaping it today, across generations. For the Spring/Summer 2026 Denim collection, Ms. Lauryn Hill and her children took center stage, shot in an intimate black-and-white portrait by Liam Macrae, adding another layer of closeness and heritage just as the Denim program made its return. Six months earlier, promoting the Cotton Wreath Outerwear, the campaign turned to a figure close to home: Emory grew up in South Side Jamaica, Queens, and Gerald "Prince" Miller stood in front of the Baisley Park Houses sign, the same backdrop that once served as the "headquarters" for the Supreme Team in the '80s, under the leadership of Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff and his nephew, Miller himself. Watching Miller stand in front of a place that once served an entirely different purpose captures the same lineage-driven storytelling Denim Tears has built its name on.

Emory extends that same instinct beyond the campaigns and casting. The Corteiz collaboration with Clint paired Denim Tears' storytelling with a brand built on its own uncompromising identity, bridging the gap; or better yet, passing the baton - between two generations of Black designers. In-real-life experiences carry the mission further, from the Clipse block party held outside the Spring St. store last summer, to the brand's "Sunday Library" series, offering much-needed conversations about the African diaspora history. The African Diaspora Goods space functions as a library in its own right, offering people the chance to look into history that won't necessarily be presented anywhere else; practically turning a visit to the store into something closer to an education than a shopping trip. At the same time, Denim Tears is shaping history from within the institution as well. To celebrate America's 250th anniversary, CFDA and Vogue's installation, "United Flags of Fashion," invited designers to reinterpret the nation's state flags. Tremaine, born in Georgia and shaped by childhood summers with his grandmother in Harlem, Georgia, was selected to reimagine the state's flag - honoring his grandfather, a brick mason, by covering it in a red-clay texture. It's an act of design that merges generations, now championed from within the institution itself.

Taken all together, it's clear why Tremaine's stories are so valuable; and why Denim Tears deserves real appreciation for the work it takes to keep those stories alive and put them back in front of an audience. Whether through the garments, the casting, the emotional weight of a campaign, or a historic collaboration that honors both the brand and the person whose story is being told, the throughline never breaks.

The latest chapter is the Denim Tears Fall/Winter 2026 collaboration with the André Leon Talley estate, anchored by a historic casting that includes Edward Buchanan, Andre Walker, Ashantéa Austin, and Yatta Bombata.