Interesting to see a noted design of the early 1960s revisited by Fred Perry. The Mule Skinners t-shirt by Barney Bubbles.
This was remade a few years back by the people behind the Barney Bubbles blog, which is what Fred Perry has also done here as part of a ‘capsule’ collection celebrating the late illustrator.
If you own the wonderful Reasons To Be Cheerful book about Barney Bubbles, you’ll know that this was a t-shirt featuring a Twickenham college band which then included Ian McLagan on keyboards ahead of his move to the Small Faces. That shirt made it onto a now iconic poster by Colin Futcher, with the t-shirt being worn by his then girlfriend Lorry Sartorio.
It’s a classic design. Bold font and mod targeted love heart and despite being one of Bubbles’ earliest, it’s still one of the most fondly remembered.
Fred Perry has obviously tweaked the design, adding its logo, contrast trim to the white t-shirt and changed the ratio a little. Personally I’d prefer a straight copy of the original.
But if you want this limited edition rework, it’s available now, but you’ll have to find £60 for it.
Find out more at the Fred Perry website
