Fear of God's Jerry Lorenzo Has So Much More Up His Sleeve
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Springtime in Hollywood carries with it a unique airborne frisson as dusk falls. The dimming sunbeams wash the city in gold, energizing it. The chill only amplifies the mood. That sensation—of being on the brink of a new, better season—was compounded at the fashion label Fear of God’s very first fashion show last week. It was held, in the half-light, at Los Angeles’ famed Hollywood Bowl.
Fear of God—founded, designed and still operated by Jerry Lorenzo—is not a young company. It’s a decade old, and its clothes—mostly clean, mostly casual, mostly monochromatically earth-toned—have been a fixture with athletes, musicians and global fashion fans for years. That Lorenzo and co. waited so long to hold a catwalk show underscores the company’s march-to-the-beat-of-its-own-drum cadence: Fear of God does not follow the fashion calendar. Collections release when they're ready, and Lorenzo picks and chooses his partnerships (like the spring 2020 team-up with Zegna), drops (such as with his lower-priced Essentials line), and developments (including a performance-wear collaboration called Fear of God Athletics by Adidas, which premiered in part at the show) on his own terms.
It’s a few days after the event, and Lorenzo is on a Zoom call, discussing what transpired–and what’s ahead.
“Ninety percent of what you saw on the catwalk was our Eighth Collection [of the Fear of God main line],” he explains. (The Eternal Collection debuted last year, the Seventh Collection the year prior.) “We intended to share more of the Adidas collection within that presentation, but as we got into styling and kind of landing on the aesthetic for the show, we realized we needed a different theatrical approach.”
It’s an interesting insight, and further testament to Lorenzo’s steadfastness. Most brands love to cultivate hype when and where they can. That he scaled it down—especially considering the buzz around his partnership and the Adidas vacancy created by the dissolution of Yeezy—speaks volumes. (Fun fact: Kanye himself was in attendance at the show.)
“We did sneak our latest basketball sneaker in there, and some duffle bags,” Lorenzo says. “There were a few base layer pieces for women in the show, too.” The sneaker features a sort of wrapped front with a grooved heel block–and will be available in Fear of God’s signature neutral hues.
The label will be releasing more details about Fear of God Athletics by Adidas in the coming weeks, but Lorenzo does give this tidbit: “We’ve got eleven different styles of footwear, and full, ready-to-wear performance collections for women and men.” He adds: “We’re hoping to release the first sneaker and some of the ready-to-wear pieces heading into holiday this year. Hopefully maybe even before.”
If it is the brink of a new symbolic season, then, Lorenzo also hints at what else is in the Fear of God program: a fragrance that’s “already developed” for which the team is working on the bottle, and womenswear that’s a little bit “deeper.” “The more clear I am about my point-of-view in menswear, the more clear I can be in translating it to other categories,” he says.
From within the Hollywood Bowl’s womb, his vision was, indeed, crystallized. The show explored a conceptual, personal blend of narratives. “The Christian journey, the Black journey,” Lorenzo told reporters backstage, drawing a parallel between his father telling him stories of his grandmother picking cotton and his own selection of textiles for his collection. The musician Sampha first took the stage on the piano. Model Alton Mason closed, hands held skyward. Pusha T performed at the show’s end and some pyrotechnics ensued, casting temporary Godly light over the darkened, quieted hills.
Lorenzo sent the message racing up those risers and into the void beyond: It’s firmly Fear of God season.
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