Jerry Lorenzo was catapulted into the upper echelons of the trainer world at the beginning of 2019 when he dropped the first pieces from his cross-collaboration between his streetwear brand Fear Of God, and the brand that he in no way hides affinity and admiration for, Nike. The link-up was a well publicised one, and one that was reportedly 2 and a half years in the making. Lorenzo’s seeming unwillingness to compromise his vision is one of the most intriguing elements to this complicated story, resulting in Lorenzo becoming one of the very few collaborators in the Nike roster to be granted his own silhouette, putting him in some hugely revered company. His ambition and his unrelenting belief in his ideas are what has made Jerry Lorenzo such a success, and what has made his rise to the top of the fashion world so inevitable.
The Nike Air Fear of God 1 initially arrived in two colourways, a Black and a Light Bone colour, and was met with widespread critical acclaim. Inspired by Air Jordans of the past as well as a shoe that played a massive part in Lorenzo’s childhood the Nike Air Flight, the Nike Air Fear of God 1 was designed out of necessity, as Nike assigned Lorenzo the task of trying to reconnect its audience to performance-based footwear. The end product is something that is functional on the court – as proved by NBA superstar PJ Tucker – and stylish off of it. Since this duo dropped Lorenzo has continued to extend his Nike portfolio with the release of several other silhouettes the majority of which dropping in both Black and Light Bone. The Nike Air Fear Of God SA, 180, and Moccasin have since braced the scene and have only improved an already excellent catalogue. So when it was reported Lorenzo would be revisiting one of these models it is evident for all to see that we wouldn’t be witnessing a rework of shape, but instead a rework of colour.
The Nike Air Fear of God 1 may have previously been teased in a yellow based ‘Amarillo’ colourway, and the Nike Air Fear of God SA may have also been rumoured to be dropping in a goldish hued ‘Wheat Gold’ colourway but the first two new colourways to officially emerge you might be surprised to hear is neither of them. Instead, Lorenzo is bringing us two previously unseen colours to the Nike Air Fear of God 1 silhouette which itself has been given a revamp, and significant upgrade. Coming dressed in a high-vis ‘Orange Pulse’ and cool green ‘Frosted Spruce’ their constructions differ from previous iterations in that a breathable mesh upper will replace its predecessor’s ballistic nylon and suede make up. Despite this apparent evolution some of the trademark elements remain, with an Air Max 180-style Air window at the heel, a small Swoosh that sits on the side of the upper constructed out of a mix of canvas and neoprene, and An Air Huarache Light-inspired TPU lacing system and zippers running down the heel round out a future-military look.
Rumours of even more additions to the Nike Air Fear of God family continue to circulate, but for now, we should be grateful for these two new and vibrant additions to the collection, which we are expecting to see available for sale on June 1st. Until then, make sure you keep it Laced for a whole host of information on upcoming releases and extensive collections of online trainers.