LACOSTE

From invention to creation

When we talk about Lacoste clothing, we think of sports or even the crocodile. Lacoste is a brand that reminds us of Tennis or even Golf. But Lacoste is also a person, René Lacoste. A former French tennis player, several times winner of Grand Slams, he was nicknamed "The Alligator" by a journalist.

He was inspired by his nickname to create the famous crocodile that can be seen today on all Lacoste men's and women's clothing. René Lacoste continues to accumulate titles, his last in the final of Roland Garros against his comrade musketeer Jean Borota.

Then he started inventing the tennis ball machine and writing his book. In 1927 he met Simone Thion de la Chaume, who would later become his wife and with whom he would have four children. But it was from his meeting with André Gillier that the famous Lacoste L.12.12 polo shirt was born, made of a breathable fabric decorated with the crocodile logo, which was both flexible and lightweight. In 1933, he launched his first promotional campaign for his polo shirts.

A few years later he was appointed president of the French Tennis Federation. While continuing to create clothing for men and women in parallel. In 1951 he launched a new range of polo shirts with small colored piqué, to add elegance to the brand. Followed by this, Lacoste shoes, much more suited to his favorite sport, tennis.

In 1961, he filed a patent for his famous polo collar. Then to continue, more inventions that revolutionized the world of tennis, such as the steel racket or the anti-vibration pad. René Lacoste diversified and launched into the design of jackets, vests, shorts, dresses, he even went so far as to design the men's outfits for the French ski team. But also perfumes, leather goods, sweaters, watches. You can find Lacoste men's clothing in your Bergerac and Trelissac stores.