Fred Perry has long been a touchstone of British subculture – the iconic laurel wreath appearing across a number of style tribes. The collection of reworked classics is modelled by a gang of “real people” that represent the range of tribes the Fred Perry spirit belongs to.
From the legendary DJ Don Letts to the sounds of Throwing Shade, the Fred Perry AW17 collection is a celebration of people across different decades and disciplines from musicians to shop assistants and their very own receptionist. Mike Skinner from the Streets, illustrator Jim Longden and tattoo artist Clare Frances also join the mix. Shot by Dazed 100 filmmaker and photographer Dexter Navy, everything from the styling to the team involved brings together a cross-generation of the best of British subculture doing what they do best, in clothes made for this exact expression of identity.
Whether it be outfitting the “cultural ground zero created by the punk rock explosion of the late seventies,” for DJ Don Letts, or memories of watching This Is England when she was “probably too young,” like Ursula Holliday from the band Skinny Girl Diet, who both feature in the campaign – Fred Perry unites even the most disparate-seeming people as a key part of their expressions of identity. Throwing Shade (real name Nabihah Iqbal) remembers borrowing her sister’s Fred Perry t-shirts from her wardrobe as a teenager, exploring Camden as it was then and going to her first gigs – formative experiences that inspired her decision to give up a career in law.
This new collection is a demonstration of how the Fred Perry ethos of “always different, always the same” really rings true, no matter the decade or movement.
