French tennis player, René Lacoste, is the creator of this particular brand. There’s an interesting story behind the existence of this brand, which has a green crocodile as its logo. The story goes to say that during the finals of the US Open Championship, which was played in 1926, René Lacoste was wearing a white, short-sleeved shirt that he himself had created. The shirt was made from a fabric that was light and knitted; known as the ‘jersey petit piqué’. The main purpose of this special shirt was to do away with all the moisture during the game of tennis. In those days, wearing this shirt was a radical change from the usual long-sleeved oxfords, which were rather stiff and woven. René Lacoste won the title that year. This was the beginning of the modern day sports clothing.
The Green Alligator!
There is also a story behind how the green alligator came to be the logo of Lacoste. During the Davis Cup in 1927, the American press had nicknamed René Lacoste as the alligator owing to a bet that had involved an alligator-skin suitcase. As there was no equivalent whatsoever in French, the nickname stayed as le crocodile in French as well. Keeping in mind his firmness on the courts as well of never giving up while playing, the nickname stayed with him forever. Due to the nickname, one of Lacoste’s friends even drew him a crocodile, which Lacoste willingly embroidered on his blazers that he wore to the tennis courts. And now over 70 years later, the alligator still persists on all of Lacoste’s merchandise.
Lacoste Branches Out!
Besides the Lacoste tennis shirts that he had come up with in the first place, Lacoste has branched out into a number of high-end clothing, leather goods, eyewear, Lacoste footwear like tennis shoes, walking shoes, deck shoes, watches, shorts, and perfume. Originally, Lacoste only manufactured white tennis shirts but very soon, in fact as soon as 1951 coloured shirts were introduced with the very distinctive green alligator embracing all the clothing. 1952 saw the United States of America importing this brand of clothing and rightly advertising as ‘the status symbol of the competent sportsman’. This particular tagline greatly influenced the clothing choices of the upper-class individuals.
Back with a Bang!
Lacoste has had its shares of ups and downs. There was a crisis in the 1970s and the 1980s, which involved brand management. But since 2000, Lacoste got back its privileged status, which it had before the crisis. And now you will see that Lacoste is back in the market with a bang competing with its rival brands and carving a niche for itself. Go through the various links on the left/right as per the categories or the price range for clothing that you are looking for.