Fred Perry has announced a new research partnership with the Westminster Menswear Archive at the University of Westminster as the British brand prepares to mark its 75th anniversary in 2027.
The partnership forms part of Fred Perry Retold, the creative direction for the anniversary year, which was unveiled at the first fashion show to be staged at V&A East Storehouse. The project will revisit the brand’s history while using new archival research to inform how its story is presented to future audiences.
The research is being carried out jointly by Professor Andrew Groves, Professor of Menswear Systems and Director of the Westminster Menswear Archive, and Dr Danielle Sprecher, Curator of the Westminster Menswear Archive.
Together, they are examining Fred Perry’s formation and sporting origins from 1952 through personal archives, company records, patents, garments and contemporary sporting press. The research considers not only individual products, but also the people, decisions, distribution networks and collaborations that helped the brand develop from tennis clothing into a wider cultural presence.
Founded in 2016, the Westminster Menswear Archive is a teaching, research and collecting resource at the University of Westminster. It holds more than 3,000 garments and related objects, with particular strengths in sportswear, workwear, military dress, designer fashion and everyday clothing.
The Archive supports students, researchers and industry partners through object-based teaching, exhibitions, archival research, consultancy and collaborative projects. Its holdings span more than 250 years and include garments by designers and brands such as A-COLD-WALL*, Alexander McQueen, Burberry, C.P. Company, Issey Miyake, Prada, Stone Island and Vivienne Westwood, alongside occupational, military and transport uniforms.
About the partnership Professor Groves said: “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.”
Rob Gaitt, Brand Director at Fred Perry, said the research into the company’s founding years had provided “a wonderful blueprint” for its approach to 2027, highlighting a brand built around functional product, aspiration, direct relationships with players and supporters, selective distribution and collaboration.
This collaboration directly contributes to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 17: Partnerships for the Goals. Since 2019, the University of Westminster has used the SDGs holistically to frame strategic decisions to help students and colleagues fulfil their potential and contribute to a more sustainable, equitable and healthier society.
Find out more about Fashion courses at the University of Westminster
Learn more about the Westminster Menswear Archive.
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