Jerry Lorenzo, a FAMU alumnus and baseball player and the visionary behind the renowned "Fear of God" fashion label, is set to be the keynote speaker at the Black History Month Conversation event on February 20th. The event will take place at 6 p.m. in Lee Hall Auditorium.
Lorenzo's ascent to prominence in the world of fashion has been marked by innovation, creativity, and a commitment to authenticity. As the founder and creative director of Fear of God, he has carved out a distinct niche in the industry, blending elements of luxury and streetwear to create timeless designs that resonate with audiences worldwide.
His approach has been described as unconventional --- building the main brand and a streetwear label Essentials side-by-side, and ignoring much of the accepted playbook. Lorenzo started in fashion late with a few looks for Justin Bieber’s Purpose world tour, and has gone on to partner with Italian menswear brand Zegna and sportswear giant Adidas.
Fear of God is the only American luxury brand to successfully go global in recent years. Except for a few household names like Ralph Lauren – and designers such as Tory Burch and Thom Browne – very few US labels have managed to build strong businesses outside their home country.
Throughout his career, Lorenzo has remained committed to authenticity and social consciousness. Fear of God's collections reflect his unique vision, seamlessly blending luxury craftsmanship with streetwear sensibilities while addressing themes of identity, culture, and community.
Faith and family
Going by Jerry Lorenzo, he is the son of Jerry Manuel, an American baseball player, coach and manager who has been a big influence on him. Also crucial has been Lorenzo’s Christian faith, as the name of his company suggests. It dictates much of how he runs the company.
 |
| Jerry Lorenzo (third from left) with wife Desiree, father Jerry Manuel and mother Renette Manuel. |
“My faith is the foundation of all I do,” he says. “It gave me transcendent values and tools that I’m able to use in clothing. I truly believe that God uses every part of your life and every experience to shape your future. The more experiences and the more that you’re exposed to, the more you have to shape what that future is – I think that I have been through enough and learned a lot and had good role models as parents.”
With a background in sports marketing and party promotion, Lorenzo never trained as a designer or worked for an established brand before striking out on his own. He came to the industry at a time when the worlds of fashion, music, sports, entertainment and pop culture started to collide.
“I approached clothes the same way I approached parties,” he says. “I was trying to create a space that I didn’t feel like existed, create a crowd that didn’t exist – with music and a DJ, you know, a place I wanted to hang out that didn’t exist in LA. And so I was like, ‘Man, if I would want to hang out in a place that feels like this, I’m sure someone else would.’”
Late start
Unlike many designers who start companies right after graduating with plenty of talent but little business acumen, Lorenzo was already well into his mid-thirties when he established Fear of God. “I think 1,000 per cent the fact that this happened later in life has been an advantage for me because the intention is a lot different now than what the intention would have been if I started early, when the intention may have been relevance,” says the now-46-year-old.
His gradual approach to building the brand and shunning tried-and-tested, but often unnecessary, practices – like taking part in fashion week or courting the mainstream fashion media – have been key to Fear of God’s staying power.
“I think it’s because maybe the goal of the company was never to stay relevant, but to create something that’s sustainable in the sense that we can consistently, at our own pace, put out a product that’s authentic,” Lorenzo says. “The goal is to run our own race to the best of our ability. And we believe if we do that, then relevance and all of these other things are a [by]product of us kind of staying on track. And I think any race today is not about speed or hype or energy because in this day and age, with information and the internet, I believe it’s easy to get some recognition – but it’s hard to sustain it.
“So for us it’s not about how fast we move, but … how are we working out internally to increase our endurance and not our speed.”