Fred Perry Bets on the Beehive: Amy Winehouse Designs Will Sell

(MoneyWatch)  Can Amy Winehouse, that beautiful wrecked shell of a chanteuse, emerge from rehab to become a fashion designer? The venerable British sportswear label, Fred Perry, is betting she'll do just fine. Richard Martin, Fred Perry's marketing director, says, "Amy has a unique sense of style that reflects the brand's own historical reference points."

Unique, we get. But stateside, Americans may be scratching their heads at the collaboration between a 26 year old who often sports nothing more than her tattoos and a firm that's been the purveyor of proper tenniswear for nearly 60 years. It's actually a better match-up than it appears.

Martin notes that Winehouse has been wearing Fred Perry for years (when she's dressed). Indeed if you look err, carefully, Winehouse's signature beehive is just a finishing touch on a wardrobe that heavily references that high point in British fashion, the mod era. So too, does the Perry aesthetic for women -- all slender cropped pants, short skirts, and gamine tops.

Winehouse is not stepping far from this comfort zone in her capsule collection that debuts in October. The 17 pieces will stick to a pink and black color palette and include capris, sheaths, shirts and "dangerously short pencil skirts." It's likely that even a Winehouse micro-mini won't become the kind of issue it did for that other famous denizen of rehab/designer, Lindsay Lohan, when her cheeky skirts (as in literally butt-flashing) for Ungaro served only to give her the boot.

It's also important to note that Fred Perry isn't venturing into unknown singer/celebrity territory. Indeed the company heavily promotes new music on its Web site Fred Perry Subculture and has enlisted musicians such as Paul Weller and Damon Albarn to take a turn at the design table.

Incidentally, for those wondering if she can sketch, the British edition of Marie Claire features three of Winehouse's drawings for the line, and the answer is: yes she can. It also reveals she's quite accomplished at doodling the beehive. Perhaps Winehouse's next venture will be her own brand of hair products?

Image via Flickr by Napalm CC 2.0