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Completing Your EdD: The Essential Guide to the Doctor of Education
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78973-563-5

Book part
Publication date: 17 February 2022

Jessica Strübel and Monica Sklar

In 1930s Britain, tennis champion Fred Perry was a household name. However, the name Fred Perry is more commonly associated with striped-collar polo shirts featuring a laurel…

Abstract

In 1930s Britain, tennis champion Fred Perry was a household name. However, the name Fred Perry is more commonly associated with striped-collar polo shirts featuring a laurel wreath logo. In the late 1960s, Fred Perry polo shirts were standard mod and Skinhead dress. When worn by working-class youth the shirt became subversive commentary on English elitism because it had originally been designed for the tennis courts. Many punks also aligned with the brand in dual demonstration of association with working-class ethics as well as an alternative to t-shirts. In the 1980s and onward, this sartorial style was appropriated by right-wing white nationalists, which stripped it of its subcultural spirit. Patriot groups, such as neo-Nazis and the alt-right have continued to co-opt the subcultural style, simultaneously turning the Fred Perry polo into a symbol of racism and bigotry. The multi-use of the Fred Perry brand creates a challenge in how to interpret visual cues when one garment has competing perceptions that at times can be completely opposing. This study examines the history of the Fred Perry brand through the lens of symbolic interactionism, specifically how the shirt evolved from a rather innocuous, yet subversive, form of merchandize repurposed from the tennis world to youth subcultures where the polo communicated group identity. As the brand has moved through fashion cycles, the association of the Fred Perry polo with deviant groups has reduced the brand to representations of hate and separation, which has impacted sales and brand image with its intended consumers.

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Subcultures
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80262-663-6

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Book part
Publication date: 7 December 2017

Rick Burton

Abstract

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Sport Business in Leading Economies
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78743-564-3

Content available
Book part
Publication date: 23 August 2023

Julian Molina

Abstract

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The First British Crime Survey
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80382-275-4

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