July 23, 2020 |
Fred Perry has long been a master of collaborations. From big names such as Raf Simons and Comme Des Garçons, to emerging talents like Nicholas Daley, the British heritage brand is continually welcoming designers across the globe to leave their own unique stamp on Fred Perry’s history. The brand’s latest team-up is no different. Working with Art Comes First – a black-owned collective devoted to producing immaculate tailoring – the two brands have created a collection inspired by Jamaican rude boy culture. Given free reigns to scavage through the Fred Perry archive, Art Comes First’s founders Sam Lambert and Shaka Maidoh reinterpreted staple pieces “through the rude boy lens.”
Looking to the seminal photography of Dave Hendley – who captured rude boy culture both in Jamaica and the UK during the late 1970s – Lambert and Maidoh created their own interpretation of the Fred Perry Shirt; splicing the torso with crochet inserts in yellow, grey and red. Also up for grabs are knitted t-shirts in punchy stripes, bowling shirts in boxy cuts and a cracking pair of turn-up jeans stamped with the quote, “Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable’. “We love it when a piece has a rich story to tell so we can bring this to the modern day and live in the future,” explain the duo. “With the Fred Perry archive, it’s like we’re kids in the candy store.”
Fred Perry x Art Comes First collection is available to purchase online now and in select stores.
