Fear of God: How Jerry Lorenzo Transformed the World Of Streetwear
If you’ve paid attention to streetwear lately, then you’ve probably seen someone wearing a hoodie or shirt with ESSENTIALS in bold letters across the front.
The brand? It’s called Fear Of God.
And its design is the work of Jerry Lorenzo.
Fear of God is one of the hottest apparel brands out there, and its ascent has taken the world of streetwear by storm. Jerry’s story is one that I find interesting, and personally I think more people need to know about it. Plus, he went to an HBCU — so I gotta show some love.
It’s all about Fear Of God this week.
So, let’s talk about it.
THE FOUNDER
Jerry Lorenzo Manuel Jr. was born in 1977 in Sacramento, California, and is the son of MLB star Jerry Manuel Sr.
He went to FAMU for undergrad, and after graduating, he began his journey in apparel at Gap (and later Diesel) where he worked as a salesperson.
From there, Jerry decided to pursue his MBA at Loyola. And, following in his father’s footsteps, he scored a gig with the LA Dodgers in their marketing department.
While with the Dodgers, Jerry began throwing parties as a side gig under the name JL Nights, and eventually, his network grew to a place where he known in the LA scene.
However, the turning point for him was fatherhood.
Knowing that he had a child on the way and that that party scene couldn’t last forever, Jerry was ready for a change. He felt the world of streetwear was missing something, and feeling a surge of inspiration, he decided to take the $14,000 he earned throwing parties and start his own clothing brand: Fear Of God.
THE BRAND
“When you’re at peace with God, there’s a fear of God that’s a reverence. But on the flip side, when you don’t know God, there’s a literal fear. So I wanted my brand’s name to play on these two different meanings.” - Jerry Lorenzo, Fast Company
To say Fear Of God is purpose-driven would be an understatement.
The name itself is based on Jerry’s religious convictions, and as the quote above states, the fear is in reverence to the Most High.
So far, he’s released 7 collections and each has a spiritual theme.
The most recent collection talks about how 7 in the number of completion in the Bible, and in the clip below, from the fourth collection, there’s an array of the different pieces along with a voiceover from Jerry talking about his beliefs on God.
THE CLOTHING
A lot of the design work & photography for FOG is influenced by Jerry’s affinity for grunge & punk rock — influences that come forth in his work on different merch designs that he’s done for the likes of Jay-Z, and Justin Bieber.
That said, if you head to the Fear Of God website you’ll notice that there are few different lines available.
Fear Of God: This is the premium line that’s more “high-fashion.” These pieces can go for hundreds or even thousands of dollars
Athletics: This line is in partnership with a brand (we’ll get to that in a second), It will be available in 2023 though.
Essentials: The diffusion line that you’ll see most enthusiast wear. Jerry’s mission is rooted in the belief that his clothes should be available to as many people as possible, and Essentials makes that possible.
HOW DID FEAR OF GOD GET POPULAR?
As Jerry rolled out the first Fear of God collection, he generated a ton of buzz. Much of the buzz was fueled by the relationships he built in the club scene, and eventually, he reconnected with an old associate who would come to define modern streetwear:
Virgil Abloh.
Virgil had just broken into the fashion industry a year earlier with his first apparel line Pyrex, and he became a champion of Fear Of God.
That when the stars began to align.
Virgil was a close collaborator of Kanye West, and he convinced him to meet Jerry. At the same time, Jerry’s wife also happened to be the stylist for Big Sean (another Good Music artist) who began to rock Fear Of God.
With Virgil in his ear and Big Sean wearing the brand, Ye connected with Jerry and eventually became his first industry co-sign. Jerry subsequently became the creative director overseeing the tour merch for the Yeezus tour and Yeezy season 1.
As a result, his influence began to permeate the world of hypebeasts and streetwear — ultimately leading him to do tour merch for Justin Bieber in 2015. But that’s only part of the story.
Let’s talk about…
The Partnerships
As Jerry works to grow the Fear Of God brand, many collaborators have come into the picture to offer limited editions pieces. He’s purposeful about who he works with and doesn’t allow the brands to stifle his process.
A few of the marquee ones are:
I. New Era
One of the very first brands to collab with FOG was New Era. Together, they released a line of limited edition “Fear Of God” caps in 2017.
Together they’ve released hats honoring baseball legends like Ken Griffie and Jerry Manuel Sr. (his father). And as HIghsnobiety points out, the hat line draws on Jerry’s personal life with the design and imagery paying homage to baseball’s Negro League.
The partnership is still in effect and below is a picture from a recent shoot of the collection.
II. PacSun
“I wanted to be where my cousins could see me and be proud of me”
With the hype around Fear Of God reaching an all-time high, Jerry wanted to do something that would allow more people to have access to his clothing.
He had the high-fashion pieces that run for thousands of dollars, but like the quote above states, most of his cousins are on PacSun. They’re used to buying $30 graphic tees and many of his supporters don’t have the bread to cop the his best pieces.
With that in mind, he launched a more affordable line entitled ESSENTIALS which can be found at PacSun (and other retailers).
III. Vans
As Jerry continued to make headway in culture he was soon approached by Vans to do a collaboration.
Those who rock Vans know that they usually go for about $60 and at the high-end $100. But with the popularity around Fear Of God reaching an all-time high, these Vans command anywhere between $500 to $700 on the resale market.
If that wasn’t enough, Jerry recognized that being in Los Angeles a lot of homeless and transient people near his office needed shoes. Rather than give them to the celebs who were hitting him up in hopes of scoring a pair, he went to Downtown LA and gave them away.
IV. Nike
In 2018, with season 6 of Fear Of God heading into production, Jerry was tapped to do a collaboration with Nike in 2018, who had seen how wildly successful his run with Vans was.
Nike even allowed Jerry to use his own silhouette — something that they very rarely do. Needless to say… The Nike collabs have sold out
**Nike and Fear of God collaborated on multiple shoes but the first silhouette dubbed The FOG 1’s are below
V. Converse
In 2020, Fear of God released a capsule collection with Converse that included a few different silhouettes including the OG Chuck Taylors.
While Chucks usually go for around $70, the Fear Of God His are going for close to $300 on sites like StockX, furthering showing how they can take historic brands to new heights.
VI. Adidas
It was also announced in April of this year that Fear Of God would be collaborating with Adidas on a line of clothing and sneakers — a move that many speculate will help them boost revenue in the wake of severing their ties with Yeezy.
While the release date hasn’t been announced yet, you can see some of the pieces below, and on the Fear Of God Athletics Instagram
EPILOGUE
2023 is a big year for Fear Of God.
Jerry had his very first runway show a few months ago, which brought out a ton of his biggest supporters in Hip-hop and pop culture.
On top of that, the new All-Black collection from Fear Of God just hit the market and the future collections are as anticipated as ever.
Only time will tell what’s next for Fear Of God, but if the past is any indicator, then the future’s looking bright.
You know I’m gonna cop something. You should too.
Peace.