Delving deeper into its archives, the British label Fred Perry has invited the self-proclaimed traveling tailors Sam and Shaka of Art Comes First to explore the brand’s past and reinterpret key pieces through the rude boy lens. Inspired by photographer Dave Hendley who captured the spirit of rude boy culture in Jamaica and the UK in 1977-1978, the design duo look to his images of young men, each with their own unique sense of style, and adapt the Fred Perry Shirt, with three iterations of the brand’s most familiar style.

“Many of the Fred Perry archive pieces didn’t feel like clothing to us, they felt more like characters from Mr. Hendley’s pictures —and that inspired us for days,” the duo explains. “We’re very proud just to be able to continue telling that same story you see documented in those pictures through clothing.”

Art Comes First add bold prints and colorful details to the classic polo shirts made in Fred Perry’s signature cotton pique: a three-color stripe on the chest, an embroidered felt patch and an all-over monochrome print based on archive Fred Perry swim shorts from the mid-1980s. As a nod to the punk tailors’ DIY styling, various Fred Perry badges and patches appear throughout the collection, making each piece simultaneously smart and laid-back. The collection’s key pieces include a bowling shirt in ‘Fred Red’ with an open collar and boxy fit, an open-knit crew neck with a bold stripe design and the heavy twill Harrington, trimmed with a bold striped tape at the placket, a shield badge and textured ACF logo on the back.

“Rude boy culture is being reinterpreted today by many young artists; it’s all thanks to the brands, music and art of what people did back then, still resonating with all of us today,” Sam and Shaka continue. “Once a rude boy, you will always be a rude boy. We feel like we are the storytellers of our generation and having Fred Perry as the engine this can only walk miles — it’s a worldwide movement. You know it best how the saying goes — ‘our differences & uniqueness makes us more powerful.’”