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Fear of God

Fear of God

Before he became a fashion designer, Jerry Lorenzo was essentially on the opposite career path: he was working in baseball. Lorenzo, son of an MLB player, originally set out to follow in his father's footsteps, eventually finding himself working behind the scenes handling off-field partnerships for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Lorenzo later became the manager for Dodgers star Matt Kemp. It was around this time Lorenzo began to throw “JL Night” parties that would attract rappers and athletes. Part of Lorenzo’s job was styling Kemp. Soon enough he realized that some of the items he wanted Kemp to wear weren’t readily available, so he decided to make them himself.

In 2011, Lorenzo took the profits he made from JL Nights to fund the production. The first piece he attempted to make was a short-sleeve hoodie with zippers on the side. Lorenzo searched L.A. for French terry cloth, RiRi zippers and someone to put it all together for him. Unfortunately, Lorenzo ended up losing thousands of dollars paying factories and individuals who couldn’t deliver on their word. While this loss was great, Lorenzo didn’t let it discourage him and kept working. He set his sights on making the perfect long T-shirt next. Lorenzo found that most designer versions were either too long or too fitted, so he made his own, opening the sleeves for men with bigger arms and the neckline for those that wanted to show off their necklaces. This is the crux of Lorenzo’s designs: he finds what isn’t there and makes it. The T-shirt became part of the foundation for Fear of God.

By 2012, Lorenzo was finishing up his first collection when he received perhaps the biggest co-sign a streetwear designer can. Through his wife, Lorenzo was able to gift Big Sean a few of Fear of God’s first pieces, which led to Kanye West becoming aware of his work. By 2013, Kanye and his associates had all been seen wearing Fear of God. When the first collection launched that February, it was an instant success. The collection debuted what would become the foundation of Fear of God for years to come: long flannel shirts, sweatshorts and long drawstring trackpants.

Fear of God pushed this look for many years, shifting it slightly with more sportswear pieces, until 2018, when Lorenzo unveiled the brand’s [Sixth collection[(https://www.grailed.com/drycleanonly/fear-of-god-sixth-collection-lookbook). In the lookbook starring Jared Leto, the brand showed tremendous growth, adding materials like leather and wool as well as shades of brown and neutrals to its signature palette.

With a highly successful Nike collaboration and a PacSun exclusive diffusion line, it’s clear Lorenzo made the right move by not giving up.

Who founded Fear of God?
Jerry Lorenzo Manuel.

Where does the name Fear of God come from?
The Oswald Chambers book My Utmost for His Highest.

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