Happy returns to Fred Perry
Fred Perry
Mon - Sat:
10.00am - 7.00pm
Sun:
11.00am - 5.00pm
14 The Piazza
Covent Garden, London
WC2E 8HD
GEO:51.5126,-0.122234
Phone: 020 7836 3327
Website
Frederick John Perry was born in Stockport in May 1909 to working class parents. When the family moved south, their son discovered a passion for table tennis. By the age of 19 Fred Perry was world champion, but it was the switch to lawn tennis that made him famous. Natural talent, tenacity and supreme fitness enabled him to destroy opponents on the court. In 1933 he won the US Championships and helped Britain to its first Davis Cup title in 21 years. The next year saw him retain his US crown, win in Australia and become the first British male to win the Wimbledon singles title in a quarter of a century. Two years later Perry completed a hatrick of back-to-back Wimbledon titles – each in straight sets. By the time he turned professional in 1938, he had won eight grand slam singles titles. No British male has won a single one since.
Revered by an adoring public, Fred Perry was reviled in equal measure by the upper classes who ruled supreme over the amateur game. All England Club members turned their noses up at his aggression and dedication and the fact that he was no “gentleman”. The champion lacked the Corinthian spirit of being just a damn good loser and his insistence upon actually winning things simply wouldn’t do. When Perry won his first Wimbledon title, he was snubbed by one committee member, who turned to his beaten opponent, Jack Crawford, and reassured him that “the best man didn’t win”.
Fred Perry stuck two fingers up to the lot of them. He turned professional and moved to California, where his charisma and matinee idol looks and charisma meant he could take on fellow Beverley Hills Tennis Club members Errol Flynn and David Niven on any surface. As one commentator said of Perry: “When he goes to Hollywood, male film stars go and sulk in Nevada.” Aside from marriages to actress Helen Vinson and model Sandra Breaux, Perry was linked to starlets including Jean Harlow, Bette Davis and Clark Gable’s former lover Loretta Young. Even Marlene Dietrich experienced Fred’s legendary forehand in private tennis lessons – just one of many who queued up to receive a volley from the ace.
The teetotal, pipe-smoking Fred Perry somehow found the energy to launch a sportswear brand, after ex Austrian footballer Tippy Wegner approached him with the idea of marketing tennis sweatbands. A true fan of the shag in every sense, Perry wanted to use a pipe for his emblem. But not wishing to put off legions of potential lady customers, Wegner argued for the laurel wreath engraved on Wimbledon winner’s medals. The emblem would soon become one of the most recognisable logos in the worlds of sport and fashion. The iconic Fred Perry polo shirt first appeared in 1952 and the brand was launched.
Fred Perry clothing has been adopted by an extraordinary range of British youth subcultures across the decades – from the mods of the 1960s through to skinheads, suedeheads and soul boys, and the rude boys of the Two Tone era. After a lull during the 1980s, the brand came storming back to prominence during the Britpop phenomenon. Oasis and Blur might have been at war, but they both chose Fred Perry as their uniform.
Today this global fashion and sportswear label remains as popular as ever. And in the sporting arena, brand ambassador Andrew Murray is hoping that the laurel wreath will inspire him to emulate Fred Perry’s Wimbledon successes of the 1930s. It’s certainly been a long time coming.
This article was written by the team at Covent Garden Journal, your free guide to everything that is anything in Covent Garden. Covent Garden Journal is available from the Covent Garden Market Building.
