Lacoste
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The Label
In 1927, tennis player Rene Lacoste was promised an alligator suitcase if he won every important match of the season. And win he did, gaining the nickname “The Crocodile” in the process. Robert George designed the now-famous Lacoste crocodile to be embroidered on the tennis champion’s game blazer. Five years later, Lacoste asked knitwear producer Andre Gillier, to embroider his logo on the front of a short-sleeved, jersey-knit tennis shirt, marking the beginning of the Lacoste label. The French clothing line enjoyed steady growth until the 1990s. In 2000, with the appointment of new Creative Director Christophe Lemaire as Giles Rosier’s successor, Lacoste made its way back onto the fashion scene.
The Look
It’s Prep-school-meets-Crayola on the runway. With an emphasis on color, those sporty tennis skirts, collegiate sweaters, and of course, piqued polos come in hues for anyone’s fancy.
The Designer
Rene Lacoste revolutionized men’s sportswear. The designer moved away from the traditional-but-stiff, starched tennis shirts of the day, to create a new classic-the knit tennis polo. Christophe Lemaire followed Giles Rosier as creative director in 2000, refocusing the French label’s emphasis on color.
