Jerry Lorenzo, Fear of God and the Elevation of American Sportswear Silhouettes
How the Los Angeles brand affected a global reorientation in streetwear.
At the turn of the 2010s, streetwear was undergoing a mammoth transformation. Thanks to a confluence of factors—such as hip-hop replacing rock as the centerpoint of popular music and Supreme’s dominance of social media feeds—the fashion world began reckoning with the culture, values and signifiers of streetwear. Streetwear, for its part, entered a long period of evolution and maturation, flirting with elevation and luxury while remaining rooted in the casual, comfortable styles that gave it its original appeal.
Several big names were at the forefront of this monumental shift, including Fear of God founder Jerry Lorenzo. In less than a decade, Lorenzo and Fear of God effected a huge reorientation in American streetwear, constituting the vanguard, if not the original source, of many trends that are now ubiquitous. As the label continues to refine its influential point of view, we recap the history of Fear of God and the multi-hyphenate creative behind it.