A shifting design model: Lacoste appoints a new Creative Design Director

The fashion industry entered 2023 with a bang. We’ve seen huge collaborations such as Louis Vuitton x Yayoi Kusama and new creative direc tors taking the spotlight.

Firstly, Gucci disclosed their latest Creative Director, Sabato De Sarno, less than two weeks after Lacoste announced the departure of their first female creative direc tor, Louise Trotter. Despite having said that they would not replace her as Creative Director, exactly a month later, Greek-American Pela gia Kolotouros has been appointed under the newly created position of creative design director.

Following in the foot steps of Moncler, Bal main, and Diesel, Lacoste is shifting towards a collective design model, meaning the attention will be shifted away ‘from one sole designer to a rotating lineup of creatives’. So, what does this mean for the brand and Kolotouros herself?

50-year-old Pelagia Kolotouros is already well-known in the world of fashion, but not much has been reported on her personal biography. She previously worked at The North Face and Calvin Klein, as well as with Adidas on their col laborations. With a background from New York’s Parsons School of Design, there’s no doubt that Kolot ouros will bring great things to Lacoste. Deputy CEO of the compa ny, Catherine Spindler, said she’s looking forward to Kolo touros’ ability to “elevate pieces to iconic status” and her “talent for con necting cultures, par ticularly from fashion and sports” making La coste “the most inspiring French brand in fashion sports.”

Lacoste was founded in 1933 by tennis player René Lacoste and entrepreneur Andre Gillier, who owned the largest French knit - collab was with Minecraft in March 2022 where they produced lounge and sportswear for gamers as well as a Lacoste-branded Mine - two other collaborations: the first with Drake , and one with Tiffany & Co.

Adidas has also had its fair from how people have learned “the value of togetherness in our years of isolation” or from efforts to become more sustainable. Whilst there is certainly some truth in this, I believe that the rise in collaborations is in no way coincidental with the new collective design model emerging in fashion. This shift arguably began with Remo Ruffini’s Moncler Genius project, announced at Milan Fashion Week for the 2018/19 season. His idea is essentially that ‘multiple creative directors… work for the same brand, creating their own individual collections that are released on a rolling calendar’ thus seamlessly blending the ideas of fashion collaborations with ‘drop’ culture to provide customers with more content. The designers for the initial project included Valentino’s creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli and London-based designers Craig Queen, Richard Quinn, and Simone Rocha. This year, the Moncler Genius project has also listed new partners outside of the fashion industry for their collections including Jay-Z , Alicia Keys , and Pharrell Williams But what does all this mean for the fashion industry and Lacoste in particular?

We would argue that for the fashion industry, it looks like collaborations and collective design models are the future. They won’t always be well-liked (see some of the worst ones here) but they’re usually accompanied by a lot of press and buzz on social media, which isn’t the worst thing. In terms of Lacoste’s future, it’s unclear how much the new appointment will change its brand, especially with Kolotouros’ history of collaborations. One thing we do know, however, is that we have a lot to look forward to!

28.02.23 - 17.03.23

Astrological Prophecies from as rainhas da astrologia

Sagittarius (23.11 - 21.12)

You can’t even flip a pancake.

Pisces (20.02 - 20.03)

You got this babe, believe in yourself!

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Gemini (21.05 - 20.06)

“If something’s not meant for you, you won’t get it, simple as that”

Virgo (23.08 - 22.09)

You think you’re mysterious enough to use a privacy screen on your phone...nobody cares.

Capricorn (22.12 - 19.01)

You and your tote bag don’t belong in MECD, the skinny scarf and iced oat milk latte give your humanities degree away.

Aries (21.03 - 20.04)

Why don’t you give up saying “Slay” after every sentence for Lent.

Cancer (21.06 - 22.07)

You’re not just the shortest in the friendship group, you qualify for Short King Spring.

Libra (23.09 - 22.10)

Stop taking half decent pictures of your homemade meals for your food account, you aren’t an influencer. At least mop up your crusty floor.

Aquarius (20.01 - 19.02)

Admit it, you’ve watched Harry Styles doing a shoey in Perth multiple times.

Taurus (21.04 - 20.05)

“So, you like show tunes. It doesn’t mean your gay. It just means you’re awful.”

Leo (23.07 - 22.08)

You can’t listen to Bruno Mars ‘Just the Way You Are’ without doing the Pitch Perfect backing vocals.

Scorpio (23.10 - 22.11)

“Brits are the most literary people on earth, they really read here”

*whips out Spare by Prince Harry*