Adidas and Fear of God Announce Long-Term Partnership

The goal of the team-up is to revolutionize the performance basketball industry. Adidas has announced a long-term partnership with Fear of God, the cult-favorite apparel label led by Jerry Lorenzo, specifically within its basketball division.

The team-up is more than a collaboration between two brands. (A press release announcing the news describes it as an “alliance.”) According to Adidas, Lorenzo will have great influence over the creative and strategy for the company’s basketball business globally. It’ll also allow Fear of God to establish a third “pillar” of the brand, Fear of God Athletics, which will will round out its essentials and luxury mainline with a focus on performance basketball and active lifestyle products.

“This is a fearless move where shared vision and conviction are at the heart of the accretion of two brands shaping sports and culture, with the purpose to truly multiply our nuanced strengths to revolutionize the performance basketball industry forever,” Lorenzo said, in a statement. “Adidas and Fear of God share the same dream for the future of basketball, on and beyond the court, and we look forward to changing the face of the industry through a new model that will unfold before us in the coming years.”

Lorenzo is a documented fan of basketball, sharing courtside images from numerous NBA games on his Instagram. His love for the sport resulted in a Nike performance sneaker and apparel collaboration in 2018. It seems this new deal will allow the Los Angeles-based designer to further explore the intersection between traditional sportswear and beautiful design — just with a different company.

Brian Grevy, Executive Board Member at Adidas, said of the company’s latest partner: “The global impact that Jerry Lorenzo and Fear of God has had on culture and the industry is undeniable. Jerry is a creative visionary and embodies a true expression of the entrepreneurial spirit today. Jerry’s authentic connection to sport, deep understanding of the footwear industry and past and ability to reinterpret heritage and visualize the future excites us.”

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