No Elevated ESSENTIALS at Fear of God's First Fashion Show
That Fear of God has never hosted a proper fashion show before is nothing if not wild. Jerry Lorenzo's fashion imprint has been around for a decade now! It's high time that Fear of God took to the catwalk.
Finally, on the evening of April 19, Fear of God realized its luxurious potential with a runway presentation at the Hollywood Bowl, one of the biggest venues in Fear of God's native Los Angeles (but no livestream!), and we were there.
And we were in well-coiffed company: the invite-event delivered A-list fans aplenty, because celebrities, musicians, and athletes have always been drawn to FOG like moths to a flame (reminder: Jared Leto modeled FOG's Sixth Collection lookbook).
Saying little beyond the location and time, the invitations that Fear of God sent out for its debut fashion show were nothing if not barebones. However, VIP guests also received a bespoke FOG T-shirt co-designed by occasional collaborator RIVINGTON roi rebis, so there's that.
All us regular folks knew about the fashion show was what Lorenzo said during a conference in late 2022, where he explained that Fear of God's Eighth Collection would be revealed as a co-ed fashion show that includes handbags and heels, preceding the eventual launch of Fear of God's long-awaited retail flagship.
Small potatoes, as far as teasers go, but better than nothing.
Interestingly, that flagship (presumably in LA) won't be Fear of God's first store: the label opened an outpost in South Korea in late March 2023.
One prediction I held going into the runway show: Lorenzo would use Fear of God's big moment opportunity to properly unveil Fear of God Athletics, his long-awaited collaboration with adidas Basketball that's only been seen at a one-off FOG Athletics pop-up since it was announced in 2021.
Correct! FOG Athletics did indeed appear on the runway, encompassing both adidas-branded clothing and collaborative sneakers.
It was very much an adidas-meets-FOG offering, with boxy sweaters, technical outerwear, and ball-ready sweatpants sporting dangling drawstrings. Easy luxury.
Pusha T, wearing more new FOG Athletics gear — including sneakers that looked awfully like the pair seen earlier this year — performed at the show, with lyrics that referenced Fear of God and its sub-labels
The vibe at FOG's runway wasn't solely that of a big collaborative reveal, though (more on this in a second).
Another expectation that came true: looks from Fear of God's uber-popular ESSENTIALS sub-label, initially suggested by teaser posts uploaded to ESSENTIALS' Instagram page.
With demand for ESSENTIALS sky-high and seasonal campaigns boasting evermore elevated imagery, now's as good a time as any to further reposition the sub-label as accessible semi-luxury by way of a runway appearance.
Incorrect!
On the sparse Hollywood Bowl catwalk, ESSENTIALS-like basics did share space with Fear of God Athletics looks and indulgent fare from FOG's mainline collection, which included truly indulgent fare like fur coats, fringed pants, ludicrously capacious leather bags.
However, to be clear, there were no ESSENTIALS clothes on the runway. Though the Eighth Collection show was demonstrative of Fear of God's growth and encompassing worldview, the mainline and ESSENTIALS collections are distinct.
Hard to imagine Jerry Lorenzo circa 2013 issuing a Fear of God collection that prominently featured buttonless overcoats, yellow scuba jackets, leather track pants, and thigh-length pumps, but it's a decade on and here we are.
But the biggest takeaway from Fear of God's Eighth Collection was in how the presentation compiled all aspects of Lorenzo's company into one cohesive lineup, blending all the lines into a single package.
If the runway show was indicative of anything, it was that FOG isn't many things — it's one united front, singularly informed by Lorenzo's auteurish purview.
Since the omnipresent highs of the mid-2010s, FOG has focused on quietly distinguishing its mainline clothing as proper luxury, rather than mere elevated streetwear.
FOG ESSENTIALS now fills that street-casual niche, allowing Fear of God's mainline collection to grow more urbane. More Purple Label, less Polo.
And, also like Ralph, Fear of God has now successfully transitioned from aspirational luxury to the runway.
In that sense, Fear of God's Eighth Collection runway was both a homecoming and a mission statement. This was Lorenzo planting a flag, an unmistakable declaration that FOG hasn't arrived: it's been here all along.
