British heritage brand Fred Perry on Monday (September 28, 2020) announced a decision to pull a short-sleeved, collared shirt detailed with the label’s laurel leaf motif because the top has become associated with the Proud Boys.
Self described as a Western chauvinist men’s club, the group describes itself as pushing an agenda of “anti-political correctness, anti-racial guilt” in “an age of globalism and multiculturalism.”
Fred Perry specifically is pulling the black version of the shirt as detailed with yellow twin-tip stitched sleeves and collar and laurel leaf motif, a color combination that’s frequently worn by Proud Boys during public gatherings, a trend first reported on by the Washington Post in 2017.
The brand has stated it pulled the colorway in September 2019 and will not stock it in the United States or Canada until its satisfied the association no longer exists.
When the Proud Boys affinity for the Fred Perry shirt was first reported three years ago, brand chairman John Flynn commented, “Fred was the son of a working class socialist MP who became a world tennis champion at a time when tennis was an elitist sport. He started a business with a Jewish businessman from Eastern Europe. It’s a shame we even have to answer questions like this. No, we don’t support the ideals or the group that you speak of. It is counter to our beliefs and the people we work with.”
Fred Perry’s statement on the decision to pull the shirt reads as follows:
Fred Perry does not support and is in no way affiliated with the Proud Boys.
It is incredibly frustrating that this group has appropriated our Black/Yellow/Yellow twin tipped shirt and subverted our Laurel Wreath to their own ends.
The Fred Perry shirt is a piece of British subcultural uniform, adopted by various groups of people who recognise their own values in what it stands for. We are proud of its lineage and what the Laurel Wreath has represented for over 65 years: inclusivity, diversity and independence. The Black/Yellow/Yellow twin tipped shirt has been an important part of that uniform since its introduction in the late 70s, and has been adopted generation after generation by various subcultures, without prejudice.
Despite its lineage, we have seen that the Black/Yellow/Yellow twin tipped shirt is taking on a new and very different meaning in North America as a result of its association with the Proud Boys. That association is something we must do our best to end. We therefore made the decision to stop selling the Black/Yellow/Yellow twin tipped shirt in the US from September 2019, and we will not sell it there or in Canada again until we’re satisfied that its association with the Proud Boys has ended.
To be absolutely clear, if you see any Proud Boys materials or products featuring our Laurel Wreath or any Black/Yellow/Yellow related items, they have absolutely nothing to do with us, and we are working with our lawyers to pursue any unlawful use of our brand.
Frankly we can’t put our disapproval in better words than our Chairman did when questioned in 2017:
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