In the ever-evolving world of menswear, few brands can lay claim to a legacy like Original Penguin. Founded in 1955 by Abbot Pederson, who famously stitched a stuffed penguin onto a golf shirt after a quirky encounter with a flight attendant, the American brand quickly soared from novelty to icon. Now, seventy years later, Original Penguin marks this incredible milestone with the launch of Pete’s Club, a new capsule collection that blends the brand’s rich sporting heritage with a fresh cultural outlook. This is a celebration of the community, nostalgia, and style they built.
A Nod to the Past, A Step Toward the Future
Pete’s Club is a curated selection of apparel pulled from the brand’s Lifestyle and Icons collections, updated with modern silhouettes and materials that speak for both performance and leisure. The collection honours the brand’s roots in golf and court sports while offering a versatile wardrobe for today’s multi-dimensional lives, the kind where you go from a round of padel to a pint with friends without ever needing to change. From soft-touch polos and tennis skirts to reimagined knitwear and cotton essentials, Pete’s Club captures that balance of modern nostalgia. The capsule is designed to move seamlessly between on- and off-course moments, just like its wearers.
At the center of this new chapter is the return of Pete the Penguin, the brand’s irreverent mascot. Once seen on the likes of Arnold Palmer, Frank Sinatra, and Bing Crosby, Pete has long stood for a refined confidence. Throughout the decades, Original Penguin has shown a remarkable ability to adapt, from bowling lanes in the ’70s to the grunge revival of the ’90s and the social media-fueled retro resurgence of the 2000s. Pete’s Club now brings all of that history into focus, wrapping it in a capsule designed for the new generation of consumers who value style, substance, and story.
A Cultural Movement
Pete’s Club wants to go beyond just garments. It’s a cultural initiative rooted in Original Penguin’s ethos of community, play, andsophistication. Launching this August, Pete’s Club will be brought to life through a series of pop-up events, exclusive product drops, collaborations, and social experiences, all tied to the growing popularity of accessible, lifestyle-led sports like tennis, padel, and golf. Post-match hangouts, courtside energy, and Sunday Tee off that roll straight into dinner and drinks.
As Carl Davies, CEO at Perry Ellis Europe, puts it: “Pete’s Club is our homage to 70 years of sport, style and individuality. It reinterprets our heritage with fresh energy – for a generation who value community, culture and play just as much as they do what they wear.” With Pete’s Club, Original Penguin is not just bringing back the past it’s reshaping its heritage to keep it relevant for the now.
Join the Club
Original Penguin’s transformation from a mid-century golf shirt pioneer to a full-fledged lifestyle brand has been far from ordinary. It has endured eras of change while staying true to its DNA. Pete’s Club is another expression of that spirit, an excuse to celebrate the sport, music, fashion, and friendship that built the brand in equal measure. If you’re a longtime fan of Earl Polo or discovering Pete for the first time, Pete’s Club is designed with you in mind. It’s a reminder of better times. After all fashion today isn’t about what you wear, it’s about how you live in it. So come August, Join the club.
