The Shape of Reverence with Jerry Lorenzo

• On Early Lessons in Presentation — Growing up as a person of color in different communities taught him that how you present yourself carries weight, shaping both identity and access.
  
  
• On Faith as Foundation — He describes his father’s spiritual approach to leadership and how faith became the anchor of his own creative and business philosophy.
  
  
• On Purpose Over Product — For Lorenzo, design begins with intention — clothing as a means to help people feel grounded, confident, and closer to their best selves.
  
  
• On Fear and Freedom — He reframes “Fear of God” as reverence, explaining that true freedom begins where fear ends — a guiding principle for both life and brand.
  
  
• On Conviction and Calling — He believes success lies in answering the unique call on one’s life, rather than seeking approval or validation from the outside world.
  
  
• On Women’s Wear — The decision to expand into women’s fashion stemmed from a sense of absence — creating what he felt was missing for women just as he had for men.
  
  
• On Sobriety and Clarity — Sobriety gave him the ability to be fully himself in every space — a kind of freedom and constancy that fuels his creativity and peace.
  
  
• On Building a World, Not Just a Brand - Fear of God is less a label than a language. Its universe extends beyond clothes into values — presence, reverence, and belief.

• On Fashion’s State of Flux — Lorenzo sees fashion as a mirror of the times — reactive, often performative, and more about perception than truth.
  
  
• On Success and Stillness — Twelve years after founding Fear of God, he measures success not by scale or revenue, but by peace, integrity, and the ability to keep going.

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Notable Quotes: 

“I didn’t start out wanting to be in fashion. I just wanted to present myself with dignity, to do the best with what I had.”

“God gives you a vision, but He doesn’t show you the steps. If you saw the steps, you might never start.”

“Faith is the only anchor I know. It’s what keeps me still when everything else feels uncertain.”

“Fear of God isn’t about fear. It’s about reverence — a respect for something greater that allows you to move without fear.”

“Success isn’t numbers or reach. Success is peace — the peace of knowing you’re doing what you were called to do.”

“The absence of fear is freedom. That’s what I’m chasing, and that’s what I want people to feel when they wear the clothes.”

“Fashion mirrors the times. It reflects the conversations we’re having, but it rarely leads them.”

“Beauty is honesty. You can’t be moved by something that isn’t true.”

“Sobriety didn’t give me clarity — it gave me consistency. I’m the same person in every space now.”

“Twelve years in, my advice to myself is the same as day one — keep going.”