le cool issue # 107

Fred Perry Laurel Wreath

Fred Perry is a Japanese-owned, British heritage brand with the stuffy taken out of it. Perry himself was from a working class background and was looked down upon by the tennis set when he turned pro, having won Wimbledon three times in a row. No other Brit has won since 1936, yet it was a shock when he was allowed to use the now iconic laurel wreath for his shirts. Supposedly, Fred would aggravate his upper-class opponents by calling out 'very clevah!' whenever a good shot was made. He moved to the States and lived the dream, hooking up with Hollywood honeys (Marlene Dietrich, Loretta Young, Jean Harlow) and wed four times. Sportswear has had the single biggest influence on how society has come to dress. Now go and see some of its finest examples as Indigo and Cloth exclusively stock the Laurel Wreath brand in their pop-up store. /

Garvan Gallagher - My Way

So the generation that wanted out with the old and in with the young now wants to take it all back. Garvan Gallagher is again looking at the way elderly people are treated in society. This time through their dress. The line 'whether older people abandon fashion or whether fashion abandons older people' reveals an empathetic approach to the topic. Personally, I love it when elderly people dress with the same flair and attention that they would have when they were younger. Part of the issue with growing old that I can grasp is the individual probably doesn't feel old, and it's aggravating to be treated delicately when you still have the same joy for life as ever. Some fantastically stylish elders are Iris Apfel, Vivienne Westwood, Mimi Weddell, Terence Stamp, Elaine Stritch and Tavi - oh wait she just dresses like a granny.

Why Collect?

Charles Horton, Head of Collections at the Chester Beatty, has over 30 years of working with archives, libraries and collections and knows a thing or two about collecting. Hear him give some clever pro-collecting points. In the meantime, here's mine. 1) As a collector you can donate to museums where people will walk around for generations after you have died and read your name on a plaque. Mr. Beatty himself now has an entire museum named after him and his collection is greatly admired. Could be you. 2) Another reason to collect is for the thrill of the chase. Beatty, when thinking of purchasing for his collections would sometimes send several undercover people on his behalf to look at individual items so that the buyers would not know the extent of his interest. I imagine sometimes he probably had to carry a gun. 3) Tax breaks.

Everything - HERE -