INTRODUCTION

RENE LACOSTE

Occupation(s)

Creative Director

Fashion Designer

Birth Place

France

Date of Birth

2 July 1904

Date of Death

12 October 1996

Alias Name(s)

Jean Ren Lacoste

Nationality

France

Residence

France

AWARDS:- Design, 1984 Award

Innovation Award,1988

Global Recognition Trophy By American Cotton Institute,1995

Meryl Award in Sportswear,1997

Beside all these awards , he also won seven Grand slams & two Devis Cup Trophies in his Tennis Career.

Jean Ren Lacoste (19041996) was famous for his considerable achievements in two very different arenas. Not only was he once ranked the world's top tennis player, but he designed a novel new tennis shirt that became the cornerstone of a world famous fashion empire. Lacoste, nicknamed "le Crocodile" on the courts, is remembered today primarily for the reptilian logo on his ubiquitous sportswear. Fashion historians believe the crocodile emblem (widely referred to as an alligator) was the first instance of a designer logo to appear on a garment.THE BEGINNINGS: Lacoste was born into an upper class family and did not take up tennis until age 15. He enjoyed the game so much that he wanted to pursue playing on a more serious level. He lacked the natural ability of other stars, but his father agreed to let him prove himself. Not everyone has such an understanding father as the young Ren Lacoste, who agreed to his son giving up preparing for the Polytechnique (one of the most prestigious engineering schools in France) to concentrate solely on tennis. In 1922, in the amateur era, it was a risky gamble, and his sons future did not look very secure, but Mr Lacoste Senior was the manager of the Hispano-Suiza factories and did not have too many financial problems, so gave his son a year to show what he was capable of! The young Ren would far exceed his fathers expectations... he was imaginative and a shrewd businessman who brought us the ball throwing machine (1927), the shirt that bears his name (1933), the anti-vibration pad (1960) and the metal racket (1963).

Unlike his colleagues Borotra and Cochet, talented self-taught players who used their natural qualities by inventing most of their shots, Ren Lacoste secured the services of a renowned coach, Darsonval, and worked relentlessly at his game. He did not appear to have any of the natural qualities that made the players of his era, but he had his admiration for Suzanne Lenglen, a passion for the game and an almost obsessive desire to train. He was the first tennis player to include bodybuilding, running and skipping in his training. He spent hours hitting the ball against the walls of his family home (which had to be resurfaced every year). In response to his coach who criticised him for training too much, he invented a ball throwing machine! With these methods, which were modern for the time, his concentration, clear-headedness and consistency, he was to make fast progress: taking part in the world clay-court championships in 1922 and being selected for the Davis Cup for the first time in 1923, at the age of eighteen.

Lacoste with Suzanne Lenglen, at Wimbledon, 1925His first successes:

He quickly became a pillar of the French team and a regular on trips to America for the inter-zone finals of the Davis Cup. He reached the final of the French championships in 1924, beaten by Borotra, and became French No. 1 the following year, winning the first French internationals one after the other and one month later, Wimbledon. Partnered with Borotra, with whom he formed a remarkable team, he also took the two doubles titles, thus achieving a European grand-slam in that year.

Having been severely beaten by Patterson and Johnston at the Davis Cup at the end of the year, 1926 started badly for him, when he was beaten three sets to zero by Cochet at the French internationals. Having lost his confidence, he did not go to Wimbledon to defend his title, went back to his relentless training regime, worked on his shot technique and finally rediscovered his form. He was about to move to America when he secured his first victory against Tilden in the Davis Cup. Soon after he won his first American championship in Forest Hills and became world No. 1 along with Borotra and Cochet. Lacoste with Tilden,1929The Peak:

Lacoste was then at his peak and stayed there. He beat Tilden three times in 1927, thus confirming his domination of world tennis, confirmed by the Davis Cup victory, a second title at Forest Hills in 1927 and Wimbledon in 1928. In 1929, he won the Roland Garros thanks to two superb victories over Tilden and Borotra. He was only twenty-five and everyone predicted a long reign for him over world tennis..

Early Retirement:-

His victory at the Roland-Garros in 1929 was, to everyones surprise, his last official match. Ill with chronic bronchitis and worried about humidity, exertion and bad weather, Ren Lacoste stopped all sports all of a sudden. It was a great loss to the French team, which was deprived of its youngest and most promising player. He would often be seen, wrapped up in thick overcoats with a scarf and hat, still taking an interest in tennis and in the future of the French team. Thinking he had recovered, he came back to competition in 1932 and got through three rounds at the Roland-Garros, but fell ill again and gave up tennis once and for all. He then became Davis Cup captain and selector in the 1930s, then President of the French Tennis Federation until 1942. From 1933, he successfully developed the Lacoste brand, selling cotton shirts to sportsmen.

Crocodile and Musketeer:-

:

Lacoste in USA,first appearance of crocodile,1926

In 1926 and 1927, Lacoste was ranked the world's top tennis player. He won seven major singles titles in his career: the French Open in 1925, 1927, and 1929, Wimbledon in 1925 and 1928, and the U.S. Open in 1926 and 1927. As a member of the Four Musketeers (along with Henri Cochet, Jean Borotra, and Jacques Brugnon), the formidable French team won the Davis Cup in 1927 and 1928. The real story of the "Crocodile" dates back to 1926. Ren Lacoste liked to talk about how his nickname became a world famous symbol. The American press nicknamed me The Crocodile" after a bet that I made with the Captain of the French Davis Cup team. He had promised me a crocodile-skin suitcase if I won a match that was important for our team. The American public stuck to this nickname, which highlighted my tenacity on the tennis courts, never giving up my prey! So my friend Robert George drew me a crocodile which was embroidered on the blazer that I wore on the courts.

Lacoste, Designer and a Business man:

In 1933, Ren Lacoste and Andr Gillier, the owner and chairman of the largest French hosiery company at that time, set up a company to produce the shirt embroidered with a logo that the champion had created for his personal use on the tennis courts, and some other shirt designs for tennis, golf and marine sports. It was the first time that a brand was visible on the outside of a garment, an idea which has since continued. Lacoste introduced a short-sleeved cotton pique polo shirt. According to Richard Martin, curator of the Metropolitan Museum's Costume Institute of New York, "Lacoste created performance clothing long before the word was out." The shirt immediately became a revolution among the tennis players of the time, who were wearing traditional warp-knitted long-sleeved shirts. The company developed... It went international in 1952 (Italy, United States) and diversified. Lacoste POLO Shirts......

The Ultimate Preppy SymbolLacoste tennis wear gradually influenced what the debonair layman was wearing. His son, Bernard Lacoste, said the company really began to expand when in 1951 it branched out from "tennis white" and introduced a line of color shirts. The Lacoste shirt reached the height of its popularity in the U.S. during the 1970s, when it became the essential preppy accoutrement. Lacoste himself was mystified by the wide appeal of the alligator/crocodile emblem. "There are kinds of things that just don't have any good explanation," he said. "I suppose you could say that if it had been a really nice animal, something sympathetic, then maybe nothing would have happened. Suppose I had picked a rooster. Well, that's French, but it doesn't have the same impact." This famous first logo has spawned dozens of imitators.

Other marketing decisions impacted Lacostes reputation as well. Between 1978 and 1990, the company signed manufacturing and distribution licenses in more than seven countries including Brazil, Thailand, and Mexico. This move reduced the companys control of product quality. During the same period, dozens of other companies, including Ralph Lauren, Sears, Roebuck and Company, and L.L. Bean, began producing their own versions of the shirt. By the early 1990s, the Lacoste brand was being sold in discount stores, and it had lost its prestige.

During the 1990s, the company worked to rebuild its reputation. In 1992 Lacoste regained control of its U.S., Canadian, and Caribbean licenses and consolidated them under Denvanlay. This allowed the company to ensure production of quality products. Also, it revised its marketing plan, using trunk shows, runway shows, and advertisements in fashion magazines to reestablish its reputation of prestige and exclusivity. By 1997 retailers such as Bloomingdales, Neiman Marcus, Saks, and golf pro shops were carrying the product again.

The Alligator Becomes Haute Couture

Lacoste's son, Bernard, took over the company in 1964. Today it is a nearly $1 billion international business, selling everything from watches to lingerie. In 2000, French designer Chriisophe Lemaire was hired to give Lacoste a more upscale look, and its popularity has once again surged. Lemaire contends that nowadays "a Lacoste polo assumes different meanings in different contexts. It's a transversal product that is worn at the country club, by a truck driver, or a rap star."

Lacoste ingenuity and creativity led him into other areas as well. In 1960s he designed the first steel tennis racket that became popular with Jimmy Connors and other tennis stars.

Lacoste and designer Micheal Young created the Plastic Polo now, fusing textile and plastic together. Once again an impressive project by the designer!!!LegacyLacoste died in Saint-Jean-de-Luz, France, in 1996. He was 92 years old. The week of his death, the French Advertising agency Publicis, who had been managing the account for decades, published a print ad with the Lacoste logo and the English words "See you later..." reinforcing the idea that the animal was perhaps an alligator.

In his 1979 autobiography, Jack Kramer, the long-time tennis promoter and great player himself, included Lacoste in his list of the 21 greatest players of all time. With his athleticism and build seemingly less than ideal for tennis, Lacoste fashioned for himself a legendary career. The winner of seven Grand Slams, Lacoste captured the U.S. Championships and Wimbledon twice each, and his native French Championships three times.

For all his singular efforts, perhaps his lasting mark on the sport was his patriotism, as his name remains tied to his three comrades. The Four Musketeers were inducted simultaneously into the International Tennis Hall of Fame, in Newport, Rhode Island, in 1976.

Brief Description

Lacoste is a French apparel company founded in 1933 that sells high-end clothing, footwear, perfume, leather goods, watches, and eyewear, and most famously tennis shirts. The company is easily recognized by its green crocodile logo.

Ren Lacoste was a famous French tennis player who achieved fame in two areas: tennis and fashion. While winning the 1926 U.S. Open championship, Rene Lacoste of France wore something that he himself had created: a white, short-sleeve shirt made exclusively of a light knitted fabric called "jersey petit piqu" that served to wick away moisture due to heat, the very first version of performance clothing in sports. The shirt was a radical departure from tennis fashion of the day, which called for stiff, woven, long-sleeve oxfords. In 1927 during the Davis Cup, the American press nicknamed Lacoste "the Alligator" because of a bet made about an alligator-skin suitcase. With no cognate in his native tongue, the nickname was changed to le crocodile in French. The nickname stuck due to his tenacious behavior on the courts, never giving up his prey. Lacoste's friend, Michael Tabb, drew him a crocodile which Lacoste then embroidered on the blazer he wore on the courts.

After he retired from tennis, Lacoste founded La Societe Chemise Lacoste in 1933 with Andr Gillier, the owner and President of the largest French knitwear manufacturing firm at the time. They began to produce the revolutionary tennis shirt Lacoste had designed and worn on the tennis courts with the crocodile appliqu embroidered on the chest, serving as the first example of a brand name appearing on the outside of an article of clothing. In addition to tennis shirts, Lacoste produced shirts for golf and sailing. In 1951, the company began to expand as it branched from "tennis white" and introduced color shirts. In 1952 the shirts were exported to the United States and advertised as "the status symbol of the competent sportsman", influencing the clothing choices of the upper-class.

In 1963, Bernard Lacoste took over the management of the company from his father Ren. Significant company growth was seen under Bernard's management. When he became president, around three hundred thousand Lacoste products were sold annually. The Lacoste brand reached its height of popularity in the US during the 1970s when the tennis shirt became an essential of the preppy wardrobe, even getting mentioned in Lisa Birnbach's Official Preppy Handbook of 1980. The company also began to introduce other products into their line including shorts, perfume, optical and sunglasses, tennis shoes, deck shoes, walking shoes, watches, and various leather goods.

In the United States in the 1970s and 1980s, Izod and Lacoste were often used interchangeably because starting in the 1950s, Izod produced clothing known as Izod lacoste under license for sale in the U.S. This partnership ended in 1993, when Lacoste regained exclusive U.S. rights to distribute shirts under its own brand. It was also in the 80's when Le Tigre Clothing came around. It was said to be the American alternative to the French brand.

More recently, Lacoste's popularity has surged due to French designer Christophe Lemaire's work to create a more modern, upscale look. In 2005, almost fifty million Lacoste products sold in over one hundred and ten countries. Its visibility has increased due to the contracts between Lacoste and several young tennis players, including American tennis star Andy Roddick and French rising young prospect Richard Gasquet. Lacoste has also begun to increase its presence in the golf world, where noted 2 time Master champion, Jos Mara Olazbal and scottish golfer Colin Montgomerie have been seen sporting Lacoste shirts in tournaments.

Lacoste Clothing Today

Today, Lacoste fashions are recognized world-wide by their logo. Polo shirts by any other manufacturer are frequently referred to as a Lacoste polo shirt by the general public. Both their men's shoes and women's shoes are worn by people working in offices, professional athletes, and by weekend barbeque chefs in their own backyard. You can accessorize your shoes and add style to your step with Lacoste socks. For afternoons poolside or at the beach, their swimwear gives a flattering fit along with conventional use.

When keeping warm for an upcoming game of tennis, raquetball, or for wearing down to the store to do grocery shopping on a lazy Saturday, a Lacoste men's or women's tracksuit or track jacket is an excellent choice for casual wear. Lacoste apparel isn't just for sports nor warm climates as men's and women's Lacoste sweaters will help to keep you warm when your environment is cool. If 'cool' is too light an adjective to describe the winter weather you live in, top off your sweater with Lacoste men's and womens jackets and be snug as a bug in a rug when winter comes your way.

Lacoste also has a successful line of accessories such as colognes and perfumes with fragrances that are both sporty and classy. Lacoste hats are popular with skiers and with the urban hip-hop crowd along with the sporting and stylish frames of Lacoste sunglasses that provide 100% UV-protection in their lens. Lacoste men's watches and Lacoste ladies watches keep precision time and offer a variety of styles to match your variety of moods. If you are looking for luxurious bags and totes, Lacoste handbags are the solutions you seek as they are attractive, functional, and durable. For a wallet or billfold, Lacoste wallets are available in both leather and nylon styles with an assortment of colors and designs to select among. When wearing an outfit that requires a belt, Lacoste belts will do the trick and they are available in both mens and women's styles.Retailers of the brand

Lacoste store in Vakovka, BrnoLacoste operates a large number of Lacoste boutiques worldwide; located as concessions in leading department stores and also as independent venue stores. In the United Kingdom, Lacoste is available from many leading high-end shops including KJ Beckett and John Lewis Partnership. Likewise in the United States, the Lacoste brand can be found in stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue, Nordstrom, Lord & Taylor, Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdale's, Macy's, Belk, Halls, and other independent retailers. In Canada, Lacoste is sold at Harry Rosen, its own boutiques, and other independent retailers. In Australia, it is sold at David Jones, and Myer.

As of June 2007, Lacoste's online presence allows Americans to purchase clothing and have items shipped directly to their doors. The online store offers sizes and options not found in brick and mortar stores, along with a large sale section.The Collection

Designed By:-

Christophe Lemaire, Spring 2002 - PresentGilles Rosier, Spring 1995 Fall 2001Ruben Torres, Spring 1970 - Fall 1994

Shows In:- New York

Collection Types:-RTW, Menswear

Similar Clientele:-Polo Ralph Lauren

Styles & Tags:-Casual, Commercial Success, French, Sporty

What has been said.......

We have a very different point of view of sportswear than Americans. It's more about leisure. American sportswear is more about winning, suffering to be the best. For Lacoste, it's about playing to enjoyto win but with a smile and style.

Christophe Lemaire, Toronto Star Lacoste has all the essential components of a cult brand because of its sense of elegance and fair play.

Christophe Lemaire, The New York Times Spring/Summer collection of LACOSTE in last few Year...

2006.....

2008..... 2010 collection.....

All these collections are done by Christophe Lemaire for LACOSTE