PacSun, the Southern California specialty retailer that sells emerging brands and trending fashion for younger consumers, is shifting its top executives into new jobs.
The 43-year-old company revealed that Alfred Chang, PacSun’s co-chief executive officer, will stay with the company until March 8, when he will then step down after 17 years to join Fear of God.
PacSun has spent several years working on collaborations with Fear of God, such as developing a more affordable lined called F.O.G., which was discontinued in 2018 when Fear of God decided to create its own affordable line called Essentials, with the help of Chang. Chang will remain a member of the PacSun board of directors.
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“I am thrilled to be joining the Fear of God team, where I will have the opportunity to deepen the strong partnership between PacSun and Fear of God that we’ve forged over the past seven years,” Chang said in a statement.
“Fear of God has been a fantastic partner to PacSun, and we are very happy for Alfred,” said Mike Montgomery, a managing partner at Golden Gate Capital, a San Francisco private-equity investment firm that acquired PacSun out of bankruptcy in 2016. “His new role at Fear of God is a wonderful opportunity and I look forward to continuing to work closely with [Fear of God founder] Jerry Lorenzo, Alfred and the rest of the Fear of God team as we deepen our partnership in the months and years to come.”
In a statement, Jerry Lorenzo said that Fear of God has an ambitious growth plan directed and led by the singular creative vision of the company. “Bringing on board the right CEO to further build the organization, culture and resources was critical at this stage of the brand’s trajectory,” Lorenzo said.
Also moving to a new job will be PacSun president Brie Olson, who on March 9 will take over Chang’s position as co-CEO, which she will share with current co-CEO Mike Relich.
Olson joined PacSun in 2006 as a senior design director for women’s and has held jobs as chief brand officer, chief merchandising office and senior vice president of merchandising and design. In May 2021, she was appointed the company president and a board member. Her position as president will not be filled, according to a PacSun spokesperson.
Fear of God was founded in 2013 by Lorenzo, who had no background in design, but had worked at Gap and Diesel stores while a student. He got his master’s in business administration from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles and later started visiting the L.A. garment district to craft his own clothes.
He founded Fear of God to make special products he felt were missing from the market. He does it without holding fashion shows or presenting his line on a seasonal calendar.
His luxury collections fetch as much as $1,100 for a wool crepe T-shirt or $598 for a fleece crew, but his Essentials diffusion line sells at lower price points.
Lorenzo has been busy over the years doing a number of collaborations, such as with PacSun, Vans, Ermenegildo Zegna and Birkenstock, and working with Justin Bieber on a collection.
In late 2020, Fear of God entered a long-term partnership with Adidas. The partnership called for Lorenzo to drive Adidas’ global basketball division business and creative, while the two were set to develop the new Fear of Gods Athletic division, which is expected to debut this year, according to the company website.
