LONDON — British apparel brand Fred Perry on Thursday unveiled a research partnership with the Westminster Menswear Archive that will bolster the brand’s 75th anniversary celebration in 2027.
The collaboration will be led by Andrew Groves, professor of fashion design at the University of Westminster and director of the Westminster Menswear Archive. Groves will mine personal archives, company records, patents and the sporting press to document Fred Perry’s origins from 1952 and reframe its legacy for today.
“Brand anniversaries can easily become a sequence of familiar products and images. Our research with Fred Perry has been about reconstructing the system behind them: the people, decisions, sporting networks, and methods of collaboration that allowed the brand to move beyond tennis and become culturally significant. That gives Fred Perry a rigorous foundation from which to retell its history and consider what comes next,” said Groves.
Rob Gaitt, brand director of Fred Perry, said Groves’ focus on the founding years gave the brand “a wonderful blueprint” for its approach to 2027.
“A brand founded on product that was fit for purpose, aspirational not elitist, which talked directly to fans and players. Using selective distribution, authenticated by champions via collaborations. Sportswear not just tennis,” he added.
