THE NEW SOCIETY DREAMT BY LACOSTE

The new society dreamt by Lacoste: Sustainable, inclusive, tolerant and connected

Worldwide well-known as ‘the crocodile’ brand since its launch in 1933, the French sportwear House Lacoste, owned since 2012 by the Swiss MF Brands group, is heading proudly towards its first century. Its founders, legendary French tennis champion René Lacoste and his almost unknow co-founder and business partner, French textile manufacturer André Gillier, couldn’t have hoped for more than such a successful destiny. Lacoste has become a hype Lifestyle and ready-to-wear brand (Clothes, shoes, bags and accessories) for women, men, and children. 2022 has been a year full of important milestones: A new fresh and full of spirit campaign, the opening of the Lacoste Arena, a wide new Parisian and sustainable flagship store located at 50, avenue des Champs-Élysées and Lacoste X A.P.C., a stylistic collaboration with Jean and Judith Touitou, founders of the French clothing brand A.P.C.. Under the innovative and creative direction of talented and experienced British Designer Louise Trotter since October 2018, the French little crocodile, which is nowadays established in 98 countries through a network of 1.100 shops, is doing well and heading far away. Unstoppable.

By Hélène Battaglia

René Lacoste had a strong passion for tennis. But the truth is that he was not predestinated to become a professional tennis player. Anyway, he worked so hard for it until the age of 18, that he made it and became the international champion we all know. He was a very determined and perfectionist young man who didn’t just want to play well. He indeed wanted to win and ‘be as perfect as possible’. To reach his ambitious aim, following his mantra ‘Never give up’, he trained hard every single day and learned from his opponents but also from himself.

He used to note down his every move and analyzed each of his loss to understand how he could improve his game. And he did it. He developed his own winning technique which was presented in the book intitled ‘Tennis. A veritable handbook for victory’ published in 1928 by Grasset. One of his precious tips to better exhaust and beat his opponents was: “Hit the ball, push back whatever happens, perfect the smash with a tensed, bent arm”. It worked. He became four-time international champion, won 7 major single tournaments and the Davis cup in 1927 and 1928 with the French Team composed by the other three Musketeers Jacques Brugnon, Henri Cochet and Jean Borotra. He was the world’s best player in 1926-1927.

At the age of 19, in the occasion of a tournament which took place in Boston in 1923, his team captain promised him as a gift the crocodile leather suitcase he admired in a store window if he won his next single match. Because of his young age and his obvious lack of experience on the court as a pro, he unfortunately didn’t win. Despite, an American journalist who attended the match, was so impressed by his strong determination to win that he gave him the well-deserved nicknamed of ‘The Crocodile’. This day, a tennis legend was born. This nickname, which perfectly fit him, would change his life forever. It quickly would become a personal logo designed by Robert George and embroidered on his blazers.

From the beginning of his career, René Lacoste resolutely stand out the crowd: he has a strong and unique personality and was a brilliant and curious mind. Few people know that he also was a restless inventor. As he was constantly looking to improve his game and make practice more comfortable, he was the first one to sculpt the handle of his wood racket and covered it with surgical trip to get a better grip. Then he came up with the idea of a lighter and easier racket to handle: the metal one. He filled more than thirty patents over his lifetime and among all these, he invented the revolutionary machine that fires tennis balls with calibrated force to help a player practice alone.

To the equipment to the dress code: To be able to win, Lacoste also highlighted the importance for a tennis player to feel free in his movement and comfortable in his clothes. Together with his friend and future business partner, French textile manufacturer André Gillier, he had the brilliant idea of an unconventional sleeveless shirt crafted from the emblematic Petit Piqué cotton, a finely breathable and lightweight, honeycombed fabric that enables air to circulate freely and ensures comfort, ease of movement and elegance. The first ‘chemise Lacoste’ (Polo model 1212) was produced in the Troyes factory of the newborn brand in 1933. René Lacoste himself and his friends and family quickly became the perfect testimonials and ambassadors of the Crocodile.

89 years after, this simple polo has turned into an iconic piece of sportwear, worn by thousands of millions of people, passed down from generation to generation, from country to country, from friend to friend. Since October 2018, as new Creative Director, talented British designer Louise Trotter has the daily task to carry on the unique legacy of the Maison by mixing, in a perfect way, her visionary approach and the one-of-a-kind Lacoste’s heritage. She is very proud to have been chosen to contribute to the writing of this exciting new chapter, full of important milestones, like the ones of this late 2022.

First of all, with the aim to install a fresh and full of spirit new brand tone, a brilliant and funny campaign, elaborated by Parisian advertising agency BETC and captured by Irish photographer Ronan Gallagher who has mixed his renowned documentary style with a fashion vibe. Authentic and spontaneous shots whose protagonists are unexpectedly not professional models. Women and Men. Young, middle-age or senior. Normal people, recruited thanks to a street casting, who had never modeled before and have taken on this role for one day with spontaneity and freshness.

To embody its avant-garde vision of sports fashion, on last May, the brand has opened the first next-generation Lacoste flagship store worldwide. Dedicated to all the cultures of the Crocodile at 360 degrees, the 1600 m2 Lacoste Arena is located in Paris, at 50 Avenue des Champs-Elysées. Clients will discover more fashion- Lacoste x A.P.C., the collab collection with Jean and Judith Touitou -, more sports, more immersive experiences as the customization services to personalize the Crocodile’s essentials with special colors, initials, and cuts.

From now on, as a brand well anchored in the third millennium, at Lacoste, more importance will be given to sustainability. Lacoste Arena will indeed be a special space to share with the community the brand’s progression in sustainable development and its growing commitment to more responsible fashion: recycled hangers developed from small quilted cotton scraps and shopping bags created from old polo shirts given to customers returning old textile products of the brand…

Sustainability but not only. In addition to its contribution to building a greener world, through its foundation launched in 2006 and supported by the Fondation de France, the French Maison is also proudly contributing to build a more inclusive and tolerant society, by helping with the social and professional integration of underprivileged young people and those with disabilities. The Foundation works all over the world, in partnership with local charities to provide financial support in developing sports and education programs, moral support by fostering the sharing of good practices between the Lacoste Foundation’s partner charities and Skills mentoring to encourage young people to find fulfilment, with the participation of Lacoste employees who work as Lacoste volunteers and mentors.

René Lacoste, the spirit of the legendary Maison, owned since 2012 by the Swiss MF Brands group, would be proud of the long road travelled by the little French Crocodile. From Troyes to the world.