CIVIL
DIRECTED BY
MIKE CARSON


To mark the arrival of “Civil Collection”, Fear of God commissioned Mike Carson to direct, CIVIL: a visual poem informed by a period when the weight of dressing birthed impeccable style with a foundation of sophisticated ease.

Drawing from the same spirit that inspired the collection itself – the integrity, resilience and elegance that graced the American people of the Civil Rights Movement, and functional wardrobes that performed duties from working to protesting; sitting to marching – CIVIL explores the purposeful intentionality of how you choose to present yourself alongside the profound impact of unspoken conviction. With echoes of the past reconsidered through a contemporary lens, what emerges is the authentic, timeless elegance of clothing crafted with meticulous consideration; clothing imbued with a quiet confidence; clothing designed to afford dignity.

“When I think about that time, I think about the amount of consideration that had to go into the everyday,” reflects Jerry Lorenzo. “Your clothes had to give you a feeling of dignity; to reflect the humanity that you were fighting for. And the aesthetic that came from that was so beautiful because it came from a deep love for self, a desire for self-representation, and a true belief in equality.”

“I wanted to put that feeling in motion and speak to the way people had to carry themselves,” explains director Mike Carson. “The film is more about what goes unsaid: when you walk into a room, you don't have to say much, but your presence and how you carry yourself can say everything. There's power in your walk. There's power in your posture. There's power in the way you carry yourself. There's power in numbers.”


Photography by Andre Wagner and Devin Williams

SHOP

Man reclining on the trunk of a vintage cream-colored car, dressed in a dark suiting ensemble with a long coat and snakeskin-patterned loafers, holding a folded newspaper.
Young man wearing a black textured outerwear and white collared shirt, holding a payphone receiver and looking thoughtfully to the side against a windowed background.
Young man wearing a dark turtleneck and tailored outerwear, seated inside a vintage car, looking thoughtfully out the open window.
Person wearing an oversized camel-colored coat and black sunglasses, standing on a sunlit city street with brick buildings and fire escapes in the background.
Black and white image of a man wearing a dark oversized blazer and light-colored jeans with bold lettering, sitting on the ground and leaning back against a wall with a window.
Man wearing a beige belted overcoat and a collared shirt with a tie, standing with hands in pockets in front of a vintage cream-colored car on a city street.
Person wearing a dark oversized blazer and sunglasses, standing inside a glass phone booth while holding a payphone receiver and looking ahead with one hand in light-colored pants pocket.
Group of five individuals wearing tailored outerwear and stylish layered outfits, standing behind a pool table in a dimly lit room with wooden paneling.
Man wearing a textured oversized blazer and wide-leg trousers, standing on a quiet city street with hands in pockets and wearing dark sunglasses.
Two women wearing oversized suit jackets stand outdoors in front of a building, one facing forward with sunglasses and the other looking to the side in soft natural light.
Person wearing a light pinstriped oversized blazer and matching wide-leg trousers, paired with a white graphic T-shirt, standing in a sunlit urban street with hands in pockets.
Man seated on outdoor stone steps, dressed in a layered outfit featuring a long dark coat, denim jacket, light-colored jeans with frayed hems, and polished boots, looking thoughtfully to the side.
Man wearing a dark jacket over a shirt and tie, paired with wide-legged beige trousers and pointed shoes, leaning against the front of a vintage car on a city street.
Person wearing an oversized black double-breasted coat over a black shirt and wide-leg trousers, standing casually by a green metal railing against a stone wall backdrop.
Man wearing a loose-fitting blazer and light-colored pants leans against a car while holding a camera, standing in front of a brick building in a city setting.