Soft sell: vintage F1 memorabilia goes on sale at Selfridges

American-born retail magnate Harry Gordon Selfridge was claimed to be on a mission to transform shopping into an enjoyable experience when he opened his Oxford Street emporium in 1909. Among the first attractions to be displayed in store, alongside consumer goods, was the aeroplane in which aviation pioneer Louis Bleriot made the first flight across the English Channel.

Continuing that adventurous spirit, the Selfridges flagship store will host a fascinating retail pop-up between 23 June and 6 July celebrating the 75th anniversary of the drivers’ world championship. ‘F1 75 Years in Motion’ takes the form of a mid-20th-century British home and contains a selection of vintage merchandise that is available for sale.

Although some visitors may be disappointed that the range of garb does not stretch to the tweeds, knee-length leather boots and deerstalker hat preferred by Autosport’s legendary technical editor John Bolster (a spectator at the inaugural championship race at Silverstone in 1950, having shunted his ERA at Stowe in the 1949 British Grand Prix), there are some similarly eccentric clothing choices on display.

Aficionados of artificial fabrics will delight at pieces including a vintage Benetton x Autopolis jacket, “emblematic of a time when Benetton blurred the lines between the runway and the race track” according to F1’s press release. Canon Williams and Ferrari/Magneti Marelli team jackets dating from the turn of the 1990s also hark back to an era when team personnel were mobile static electricity hazards.

Among the more intriguing and recherche items is a Ferrari Sport Support Satin jacket in deep royal purple with an embroidered prancing horse logo and dates of all the grands prix in the 1991 season. But perhaps most daring of all is a vintage Caesars Palace Grand Prix jacket, featuring the Las Vegas skyline crest and an embroidered name.

Niki Lauda, Ferrari 312T

Photo by: David Phipps

Other collectibles include a 1974 Heuer Silverstone watch, a 1976 Cavalline desk clock modelled after Niki Lauda’s crash helmet, and pieces from the F1 x Peanuts collection. The Peanuts brand also celebrates its 75th anniversary in 2025 and creator Charles Schulz illustrated Snoopy as a grand prix driver in the 1960s.

Readers may also recall an amusing, if vulgar, unofficial cartoon strip involving the aforementioned Lauda.

“75 Years in Motion is a curated celebration of Formula 1’s 75-year legacy brought to life through vintage pieces, memorabilia, merchandise, art and collectibles from across the sport’s history,” said Emily Prazer, F1’s chief commercial officer.

“Fashion has played an integral role in Formula 1’s story over the years, and so launching this exciting first together with Selfridges is a natural fit. This is more than just a celebration of the sport, but recognition of its cultural significance, where vintage and modern meet to encapsulate our rich, and stylish, story.”