After tripling sales over the last two years, Fear of God is gearing up for its next chapter with its debut fashion show, its first flagship and a push into women’s footwear and accessories, founder Jerry Lorenzo said on stage at VOICES, BoF’s annual gathering for big thinkers.
The show will take place in Los Angeles next year before thousands of fans and include musical performances, as well as looks from the brand’s eighth collection. “This isn’t going to be a traditional Paris show,” Lorenzo said on the sidelines of the gathering. “It will be inclusive in its very nature.”
Fear of God’s first permanent retail space — set to house the brand’s luxury-level mainline, Essentials diffusion label and sportswear-driven Adidas partnership under one roof — will open in Los Angeles next year. The store, too, will take a community-centered approach. “Transaction isn’t the focal point. Transformation will be,” said Lorenzo. “We believe our space can transform our audience without selling them a product.”
“Our intention is that when you come into the store, there’s a shift that happens,” Lorenzo added. “We want to bring you into a space that’s beyond an environment; it’s an atmosphere.”
The brand is also making a push into women’s footwear and bags. The move comes as demand for the label’s upscale streetwear, which boomed during the pandemic, continues to surge.
Lorenzo launched Fear of God in 2013 with no formal design training. His designs quickly won the attention of celebrities like Justin Bieber, Kendall Jenner and Kendrick Lamar, as well as designers like Virgil Abloh and Alessandro Michele, catapulting the label onto the fashion scene.
“I’m not trying to reinvent clothing from a design perspective,” Lorenzo said. “It may be 2 cm wider on the shoulder, it may just be a little heavier fabric on the hoodie, but I’m not in design from a conceptual point of view as much as I’m in design from a storytelling point of view.”
