Fred Perry Teams Up With Pioneering Black British Brand Casely-Hayford

Related | Fred Perry Pulls Polo After It Became the Proud Boys Uniform

During his career, it didn't take long for the athlete to captivate the fashion industry's attention with his on-court style — his game-day wardrobe consisted of knit sweaters layered over tailored shirts and straight-legged white pants paired with a circulation of three-quarter button-ups. As his style evolved, Perry searched for the ideal tennis shirt, eventually taking matters into his own hands and designing a signature polo shirt himself, later deemed the "Fred Perry fit."

Cementing his influence in fashion, the sports star's early designs were met with high demand, leading to the establishment of his own namesake label in 1952. "I was generally regarded as the best dressed player of my time," the late athlete-turned-designer said, according to his namesake brand's website. "I'm a great believer in trying to look the part. It's a fetish with me."

Now, carrying on the remembered athlete's path-forging aesthetic, the Fred Perry label has enlisted the London-based menswear brand Casely-Hayford — one of the first Black British fashion houses to garner international acclaim — for a fully fledged collaborative collection.

Founded by Joseph Casely-Hayford, the eponymous brand is known for fusing sharp Savile Row tailoring with a streetwear edge inspired by London's East End — a curated style worn by the likes of Michael Jackson, Bono and Drake. After four decades of independent design, Joseph asked his son, Charlie, to join him at the helm of Casely-Hayford in 2009, where the father-son duo established the label's cross-generational style over the span of 10 years, before Joseph passed in January of last year due to cancer.

Remembering the industry-shifting influences of both Joseph Casely-Hayford and Fred Perry, this new collab heavily references both brands' decades-old archives from traditional Saville Row precision to Fred Perry's Laurel Wreath iconography.

Olivia Rose photographed models of various generations and ages in reportage-inspired images. "I like to understand the world in which the pieces are going to live in," said Charlie Casely-Hayford of the campaign in a statement. "So, creating a mood-board is an integral part of that. I was interested in this idea of reportage photography that captures culture ... not too serious, just capturing real people."

Fred Perry x Casely-Hayford is available now at FredPerry.com.

Photos courtesy of Fred Perry