Designer Insider at New York Fashion Week – Lacoste

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Cathy Donohue

Designer Insider at New York Fashion Week – Lacoste

It began with a simple polo shirt and now Lacoste is one of the biggest brands in the world…

Background

Lacoste is a French clothing company established in 1933 selling luxury clothing, footwear, eyewear, perfume and watches. La Chemise Lacoste was founded by René Lacoste and Andre Sillier, owner and president of the largest French knitwear company at the time. They produced a tennis shirt designed by René, its trademark was the crocodile emblazoned on the chest. French designer Christophe Lemaire later modernised the brand leading to contracts with several tennis stars including Andy Roddick and John Isner.

Mr Roddick wears Lacoste well

Expanding the Label

Although René continued to design, his son Bernard took over the running of the company in 1963. Bernard brought the company to new heights and 1980 was a landmark year for the brand as “preppy” became fashionable. Lacoste branched out introducing perfume, an optical and sunglasses range, shoes and leather goods. The label has grown to astronomical proportions with the famous crocodile symbol now recognised in over 80 countries.

Lacoste is now known for its gorgeous campaign imagery

By the Numbers

2005 was the year Lacoste surged in popularity as almost 50 million Lacoste products were sold in 110 countries. Lacoste’s first E-commerce site was set up in 2007 allowing people to shop from the comfort of their homes. In 2010, Christophe Lemaire stepped down and Felix Oliveira Baptista was appointed creative manager of Lacoste.

Felix is creative manager at Lacoste

René’s Legacy

“One day I noticed my friend the Marquis of Cholmondeley wearing his polo shirt on the court, a practical idea I thought to myself.” René was a keen tennis player and remembers seeing his friend wearing a polo shirt on the courts. This was was his inspiration for starting the Lacoste brand, little did he realise that it would become a household name.