FRED PERRY

FRED PERRY

Fashion by FRED PERRY is young, rebellious and influenced by streetwear. This British brand has an eventful history spanning more than 60 years. The label with the laurel wreath logo is currently celebrating a strong comeback. The label’s trendy looks for women, men and kids along with slanted seams, are cool and authentic and pay homage to the youth culture of the 1950s.

An athlete creates fashion

The brand’s namesake, Frederick John Perry, was born in 1909 in Stockport near Manchester, England, and came from humble beginnings. What followed was a fabulous success story, the story of a talented “underdog” who launched a dream career. In 1929, the versatile sports ace won the world title in table tennis and in 1934. After changing sports, he won the traditional tennis tournament at Wimbledon three times in a row. He was the first Wimbledon winner from the working class, a superstar of the sport. In the 1930s, Perry toured the U.S. as a professional tennis player; after his career ended, he returned to postwar England in 1947 with new business ideas.

In 1952, the fashion company FRED PERRY was born out of the cooperation with the Austrian textile manufacturer Theodor Wegner. The first product was a sports sweatband, then a white polo shirt for men. These quickly became big sellers and not just among English tennis players. Prominent contemporaries such as Charlton Heston and Bing Crosby, even England's nobility, as well as the Japanese crown prince wore the plain cotton shirts. Originally made entirely without a brand emblem, at some point it was time for a signature identifier. In memory of his winning the trophy at the memorable All England Cup in 1934, the company's founder chose the distinctive laurel wreath that has been embroidered on clothing, footwear and accessories as the brand logo ever since.

FRED PERRY – Cult brand of youth cultures and music stars

At the end of the 1950s, the brand achieved a certain fame when young Brits shed the rockstar image along with their leather jackets and preferred to ride around on Vespas in a dandyish manner in slim suits, shirts and of course in casual Polos. They called themselves Modernists, or Mods for short, and propagated a new, gently rebellious youth culture. In the 1970s, the protagonists of the punk music scene also wore the shirts with the button placket and, at the latest, the Brit poppers Oasis and Blur helped the label to a high-profile revival in the 1990s. The close ties to the tone-setting music business have remained to this day - stars and starlets walk red carpets in FRED PERRY fashion and show up on CD covers with white shirts from the brand.

Another sports idol also caused a fashionable sensation, in particular, Britain’s first Tour de France winner and multiple Olympic champion Sir Bradley Wiggins. The declared long-term fan of the brand was the inspiration for a trendy, masculine collection. Among other things, the classic shirt was rediscovered by him and given a stand-up collar, zippers and stripes in many shades. This FRED PERRY shirt has become a legend in its own right. Despite all the fashion trends, it has reinvented itself again and again – it is and remains a piece of contemporary history you can touch.