Jerry Lorenzo

First debuting in streetwear in 2012, nobody expected Jerry Lorenzo, a dad with with no formal fashion training, to have crafted a brand by 2016 that counts the likes of Justin Bieber, Kanye West and Kendall Jenner amongst its fans. This year was just the latest in the meteoric rise of Lorenzo’s label, Fear of God, which saw collaborations with mastermind JAPAN, Vans and SSENSE. Meanwhile, Lorenzo’s collaborative F.O.G. diffusion label with PacSun continued to put out collection after covetable collection aimed at a younger audience. What made the biggest waves, however, was Lorenzo’s designs for Justin Bieber’s Purpose tour merchandise that sold out instantly at a series of pop-up stores held nationwide in the U.S. Not to mention the surging popularity of his military-inspired sneaker boot released towards the end of last year, which quickly gained traction through recent months to become one of the most hyped silhouettes in the sneakerhead community. Whatever Lorenzo has up his sleeve for the coming year, you can count on it to have ample viral potential given the designer’s deft understanding of the current pop cultural climate.