After dropping several stellar sneakers with Vans, Fear of God founder and creative director Jerry Lorenzo has unveiled his debut shoe with Nike, the Air Fear of God 1. And with it, he offered an explanation of how the collab came about.
Speaking with the Swoosh, the renowned designer said he wanted to focus on the emotional element of sport when creating the basketball silhouette.
“It is a shoe that should only be judged by the emotion it gives the kid when he first sees it — however it makes him feel,” Lorenzo said in a statement. “We live in a day and age when images are leaked left and right, and products are leaked without consideration and emotional attachments. I’m aiming to give a visceral experience whether the kid sees it first on Ben Simmons coming into the arena or worn by his favorite athletes on-court.”
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He also, according to Nike, wanted to revisit an era when athletes and sport defined style.
“In my youth … growing up in the ’80s and finishing high school in the ’90s, contrary to what’s happening now, it was our superstar athletes and our pro athletes that were informing the way that we wore our street clothes,” Lorenzo said in a statement. “These athletes, like [Andre] Agassi and [Michael] Jordan, were at the top of their game, and what they wore didn’t compromise on design or beauty.”
Lorenzo created the Air Fear of God 1 sneaker with the help of Nike’s senior footwear design director, Leo Chang, who is best known for his work on the signature sneakers of NBA star Kevin Durant. His debut with the Swoosh is a performance hoops style that boasts a bold aesthetic, with an eye-catching double-height Zoom Air cushioning unit in the heel and a TPU cage on the upper inspired by the Huarache Light.
The debut collection for Lorenzo with Nike, highlighted by the Air Fear of God 1 sneaker, arrives in stores Dec. 15.
In December, Lorenzo confirmed that he would no longer work with Vans, in favor of Nike, and images began to circulate of his collab with the athletic giant in September (along with a short film with actor Jared Leto, where the sneakers were teased at the end).
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