@jerrylorenzo
Fear of God is a luxury streetwear brand that sells fashion apparel and footwear. The brand was originally founded in 2012 when Jerry Lorenzo discovered a niche and untapped market in the fashion industry. Jerry saw there was a need to produce fashion that had a true message and design as opposed to simply riding off current trends.
Let’s take a close look at how Jerry Lorenzo started the popular and highly successful Fear of God brand…
The Foundation
Jerry Lorenzo was not brought up in a well-off family. They lived in a studio apartment together with his family despite his father being a Major League Baseball player. His life is filled with a lot of religious principles since he was brought up in a strong Christian family. The name of his brand, Fear of God, derives from a devotional book his mother read to him and his siblings frequently growing up. He attributes a lot of the person he is to his roots and his faith.
The Beginning
After completing school at Loyola Marymount in Los Angeles, CA and earning a Master of Business Administration degree, Jerry began working various jobs that required him to put his marketing skills to use. These jobs included working at the LA Dodgers and becoming a club promoter. While Jerry was a successful club promoter and his parties attracted the attention of large crowds and celebrities, he always knew club promoting would not be a long term career for him. He wanted to build something his children would be proud of so after a few year of club promoting, Jerry launched Fear of God.
The Struggle
At the beginning of Fear of God, Jerry Lorenzo had little to no background on the nitty-gritty of cloth production so he was scammed a few times and ended up losing a large sum of his start-up funds. It was extremely hard start to his brand, but he had his vision so set that not even losses would deter him from turning Fear of God into a success. He had a family of four to support at the time and needed to stabilize his business. He produced the first line with no regard for whether the product had a market or not, he just believed in himself and his designs. Among his first items were a short-sleeved hoodie with zippers on the side and a long T-shirt.
The Rise
In a matter of weeks, Kanye West spotted his shirt though Jerry’s friend Virgil Abloh (whom he met during his time club promoting) and asked him to meet. They met up and Kanye was impressed by the effort and style Jerry put into his designs. Soon after meeting, they collaborated on a line Kanye was working on for APC and other projects Kanye was working on such as his YEEZY season one. Jerry credits much of his success to the events of this meeting with Kanye as Kanye’s approval gave Jerry a newfound sense of confidence that his Fear of God brand would work. Soon after working with Kanye, various celebrities such as Big Sean, Rihanna, and 2 Chainz loved his designs and began wearing them.
Jerry started with a pretty small team for the production of his line, beginning alone then moving on to four team members, and is now currently expanding to over 30 team members. The team started working in his basement and did most of the work there. Fear of God has now grown enough to have warehouses to work from that create a more efficient production process.
The Success
Fear of God now has 7 collections of clothing and accessories. The pieces Jerry produces now fly off shelves quickly in stores as well as online. His brand has grown tremendously despite his unconventional approach to fashion. The seven collections only include male items, but he has stated his need to dip into female attire especially since his daughters want to wear dad’s Fear of God clothing too.
His releases are not regulated by seasons as is done by other designers rather they are released when the goal of the collection is fully achieved regardless of the time or season. With the success of Fear of God, Jerry has launched ESSENTIALS which is a subdivision of Fear of God providing simpler and more luxurious pieces which also has become a huge success.
Jerry’s next Fear of God venture is with none other than Adidas. The partnership between Fear of God and Adidas will create basketball apparel intended to change the culture around basketball apparel closer to how Jerry views fashion and style. The goal is to produce activewear products for consumption by regular individuals. The collaboration is being viewed as a game-changer in basketball as well as the fashion industry.
Sky seems to be the limit from here on out for Jerry Lorenzo and his Fear of God brand.
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