Fred Perry

In the late 1940s, Perry was approached by Tibby Wegner, an Austrian footballer who had invented an anti-perspirant device worn around the wrist. Perry made a few changes to create the first sweatband.

Wegner’s next idea was to produce a sports shirt, which was to be made from white knitted cotton pique with short sleeves and a buttoned placket like René Lacoste’s shirts. Launched at Wimbledon in 1952, the Fred Perry tennis shirt was an immediate success.[8]

The white tennis shirt was supplemented in the late 1950s with coloured versions for table tennis in which white shirts are not allowed. These became popular in the 1960s as a symbol of mod culture.

The brand’s logo is a laurel wreath. It was based on the original symbol for Wimbledon.[8] The logo, which appears on the left breast of a garment, is stitched into the fabric of the shirt.[19]

The brand was initially run by the Perry family, namely his son David, until it was bought by Japanese company Hit Union in 1995. However, the Perry family continued to work closely with the brand keeping Fred’s legacy alive . [20][21] The brand has been the clothing sponsor of British tennis player Andy Murray.