Purpose-Driven Brands — Case Study 1: Fear of God

How Fear of God builds relevance and keeps its vision of long-term impact in the fashion industry.

Fear of God ESSENTIALS x NBA/WNBA Collection

I enjoy talking about Fear of God because most people do not realize how much insight the brand brings to new fashion brand founders trying to find a voice and recognition in the market. I`ve been watching the steps and evolution of the brand and its founder, Jerry Lorenzo. The evolution of Jerry’s vision has been coming to reality, and it is inspiring.

Brand resume:

Fear of God is a luxury brand well-connected to the mainstream urban fashion and sneaker culture. The brand is known for its cuts, proportions, and materials applied in high-standard in simple, and minimally designed pieces. Other than luxury, the company has two other lines: the Essentials, a more affordable and popular line, and the most recent long-term partnership with Adidas called Fear of God Athletics. With these three fronts, we can say that Fear of God has three pillars: Luxury, Basics (luxury-aspirational), and Athletics.

In this case study, I want to highlight three main characteristics, present in all three fronts, presenting the strong foundations for the brand: Deep vision behind “simple” design decisions; Atemporality approach; Long-term vision commitment.

Deep Vision Behind “Simple” Design Decisions:

Jerry decided to design clothes aligned with his style, which gravitate deeply connected to the music world, especially towards grunge rock and hip-hop-inspired silhouettes. His style became very well known at the beginning of the brand, and with time, it became more and more developed toward simply designed clothes, a quiet luxury approach (or “humble chic”, as Jerry calls it). To keep the vision and the intention, the brand always has a deep focus on proportions and the quality of the clothes. The clothes are kept in a simple look and neutral colorways, but are deeply intentionally designed. When wearing and paying attention to the shapes and proportions, it is possible to track the brand’s intention and inspiration since the beginning.

The founder explains that he saw a gap in the fashion market that made him create his brand; he couldn`t find the clothes in the proportion, quality, and style he was looking for. After gaining so much mainstream relevance, multiple collabs, and key partnerships, I think the brand has made its point, and this gap is well filled. These proportions are being replicated in some sense in the market. It is impossible not to recognize the dedication in crafting, keeping the quality at a high standard, and the presence that Fear of God always brings. A clear stand of differentiation in the market.

According to Jerry Lorenzo, the purpose of the brand is to express deeply who he is, the name does not stand for Fear but for Reverence. Deeply, the brand is a translation of Reverence and being truly yourself, being driven and inspired by Jerry`s spiritual foundation on Christianity. Translating to the fashion connotation, it is being luxury and formal (stands for Reverence), without losing the richness of the cultural background and the urban approach (stands for being yourself).

Atemporality Approach:

All the pieces that Fear of God launched are very atemporal. Even though some can be considered dated now, because of the hyped popularity of certain lines. It depends on the trend appetite of the person, but from a fashion style standpoint, most of the styles follow an atemporal approach, well connected to key retro silhouettes that are kept relevant over the decades.

Keeping innovation and atemporality in fashion is pretty difficult, and Fear of God does it very well. The brand doesn`t follow seasons or trends, it follows a different storytelling and reference on each collection, not necessarily following what is popular at the moment the collection is launched. They are trying to create a design language that stands the time. The way the Fear of God lines are created shows that there is plenty of profitable room for innovation, creativity, and atemporality working together, which I believe is the only future for fashion. So it is very inspiring. Especially for brands that want to follow sustainable standards, slow fashion, and have a high-quality driven approach, without sacrificing relevance and profitability.

Long-Term Vision Commitment:

Fear of God is a brand closely driven by the founder, and he seems very focused and committed to his vision for the products and branding. In an interview for Complex, Lorenzo explains the importance of bringing a CEO to help him navigate this exploration and obsession with perfection, which can be a long process, without being inefficient and hurting the business itself. This balance is essential! The brand is doing well to put business-smart decisions as the helper and steward, not the goal and vision. The vision is to keep serving the market and the audience as the company understands is the best, and to perfect the process. Turning it long-term, not just into the creative and branding side, but also the business side.

Your vision deserves a tailored strategy. Studio IMPT! offers creative consulting crafted specifically for independent fashion and mission-driven brands.

In fashion, we can easily see brands that focus on short-term gains, on a trendy approach, that sacrifice any deep process of good quality and design. Fear of God lines stand out on this intention and are progressing more and more to a balance of creativity, relevance, and business sustainability, keeping commitment to the initial founding vision.

Sources to dive deep into the brand: