British Style Legends

Fred Perry

It could have been very different. Had Fred Perry got his way, the iconic laurel wreath logo that has adorned the chests of sharp British youth for over fifty years would have been a pipe. That’s right: a pipe. Perry, famous for his extraordinary talent as a tennis player was also well known for his pipe-smoking habit. When he was starting his sportswear label with partner Tibby Wenger, Perry suggested an embroidered pipe might be just the ticket. Happily, Wenger vetoed the idea.

Frederick John Perry was born in Stockport in 1909, the son of a cotton-spinner. As a young man Perry’s first sporting obsession was table tennis. Such was his passion for the sport that he became World Champion in 1928. He promptly tired of ping-pong and retired to focus on his new obsession – lawn tennis. Perry’s working class roots were a barrier to success – the All England Tennis Club at the time was a snobbish, elitist organisation. Indeed, when Perry won the Wimbledon title in 1934, committee member Brame Hillyard, in front of Perry, congratulated the loser Jack Crawford with the words ‘Congratulations, this was one day when the best man certainly didn’t win.’

Perry was not one to take such knocks to heart. Always his own man, the snobbish air of the tennis crowd simply drove him. And the public loved him. From his trademark leaping of the net, to his changing into clean whites before a final set, Perry drew the crowds. Having won a British record four Grand Slam titles, Perry turned professional in 1938, and actively courted a celebrity lifestyle, often seen with actors and actresses as he increasingly spent time in the United States.

In 1949 Perry was approached by Australian footballer Wenger, who had invented an ‘anti-perspirant device for the wrist.’ Perry made a few practical changes and the sweatband became the first product from Fred Perry Sportswear. The second product was the white cotton pique polo shirt, which was launched in 1952 and was an immediate success. Perry gave the shirts to all of the players at that year’s Wimbledon tournament, who wore them on the newly televised event. Free adverts get no better, and Lillywhites sportswear shop was inundated with enquiries about the shirt with the laurel wreath logo – a logo, incidentally, which was stitched on, unlike the iron-on crocodile motif of rival Lacoste’s polo shirts. Another marketing ploy Perry used was to give celebrities polos with their two initials embroidered on to stop them giving the shirts away. President Kennedy was a fan and asked Perry to be awarded the ‘three-initial honour.’ Until then, only Perry himself had three initials on his shirts. JFK was granted his wish, and only Billie Jean King was similarly blessed.

In the late 50s the fledgling mod movement picked up on the shirt – ideal for all night dancing and smart with a v-neck or mohair suit. Picking up on the mod demand for bright colours, Perry introduced a varied colour palette. When contrasting piping was introduced in the late 60s skinheads took up the shirt in their football team’s colours: claret and blue for West Ham, blue and white for Spurs. From mods to skinheads to punks and soul boys, the Fred (it was only called a Perry by Manchester scallies in the late 70s) is passed on like a baton of style. Shirts by Fred? Nuff said.