Fred Perry unveils a new collaboration with Nigel Cabourn
It’s lucky Nigel Cabourn is good at tennis. Table tennis, to be exact. When you team up with a brand whose founder was the first world champion in 1921, it could be intimidating. Instead, the English fashion designer’s five-times-a-week habit has only served (sorry) as motivation for his new spring/summer collaboration.
“I am a big table-tennis player. I’ve played since the Fifties,” he tells ShortList. “So I’ve brought back a bit of history that maybe Fred Perry has forgotten about.”
![](https://www.shortlist.com/media/images/2019/05/8e1477b1b316e963eea0408ddc748d71-1556695204-xVS8-column-width-inline.jpg)
![](https://www.shortlist.com/media/images/2019/05/b68c0bf6f84afa4a69f4ff58cbf219cc-1556695204-QaLf-column-width-inline.jpg)
Styles, fabrics and designs were also inspired by Viktor Barna, the British-Hungarian five-time table-tennis world champion, as well as Cabourn’s vintage stash: “I have 4,000 pieces which I’ve been collecting since 1978,” he says. “It’s mainly sports pieces from the Fifties, especially US sportswear. I own some Fred Perry bits from 50 years ago.”
Cabourn even travelled with Fred Perry to play table tennis against opponents based all over the world, including a 360 person-strong match in Tokyo.
With loose shorts, polo shirts and Halley Stevensons’ wax holdalls, this is retro sportswear done properly. So what’s Cabourn’s favourite piece? “When I was a kid, you wore a sweat top and matching bottoms. So one thing I did [for Fred Perry] was an old soccer suit. I keep wearing the pants on Instagram and people love them. I must have made them famous now.” Better get in there quick….
Prices start at £85; fredperry.com
![](https://www.shortlist.com/media/images/2019/05/b63d68754ca7703cfb04df070929e897-1556695205-U42z-column-width-inline.jpg)
![](https://www.shortlist.com/media/images/2019/05/4daf8e002cc18a1520909465ff071107-1556695205-QFQd-column-width-inline.jpg)
![](https://www.shortlist.com/media/images/2019/05/da1a0c370eec6e8478bc1f14066b2fe4-1556695206-LsBg-column-width-inline.jpg)