The historical English brand Fred Perry, founded by the tennis player of the same name in 1952 and most famous for his polo shirts with the laurel wreath logo, has withdrawn from trade in the United States and Canada a model of his polo shirts, the black one with the yellow trim, because it had almost become the “uniform” of the American neo-fascist organization Proud Boys. The decision was explained in a company release a few days ago: Despite his lineage, we have seen that the shirt with the double black and yellow line is taking on a different meaning in North America due to its association with the Proud Boys and this association is something we must put an end to.
To be absolutely clear: any Proud Boys material or product with our laurel wreath or any black and double yellow related item has absolutely nothing to do with us and we are working with our lawyers to prosecute any illegal use of our brand concludes the company note.
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Who are the Proud Boys
The Proud Boys movement born in 2016, founded by Gavin McInnes, Canadian author and commentator and becoming one of the most active (and numerous) of the far right. Referred to as the hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, the Proud Boys are known for their anti-Muslim and misogynistic rhetoric. How much further from the historical image of the English brand of polo shirts with laurel. Organized as real armed militias, the Proud Boys have also been seen in the last few weeks during the clashes that have shaken the country and in opposition to the Black Lives Matter movement.
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A Proud Boys militant during the rally in Portland (Afp)–
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The polo brand you love “on the left”
In fact, Fred Perry’s note points out how incredibly frustrating it was to see the polo shirt and its logo associated with such a movement, given that the brand has always tried to represent inclusiveness, diversity and independence and which, historically, has always been a piece of British subculture. An image, in short, historically “left”. And although the now Japanese owner president, John Flynn, declared in 2017 that the brand still upholds the values of founder Fred Perry, a former Wimbledon winner: Fred was the son of a working-class socialist who was a member of Parliament and became a tennis world champion at a time when tennis was an elite sport and started his business together with a Jewish businessman from Eastern Europe.
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September 28, 2020 (change September 28, 2020 | 20:54)
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