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“In his clothing there’s distinction
And he knows the signs of style
On his slacks a silver buckle
On his shirt a crocodile.”
So read a poetic 1958 advertisement by the Andover Store, famous Ivy League outfitters in the US.
Since its inception Lacoste has become a byword for leisurely continental style around the world, especially beloved in Britain. From the terraces of Feethams to the pages of The Face, we’ve arguably taken no other French export to our hearts quite like it. Not even Kronenbourg.
The story of the brand begins more than a century ago, with a plucky French tennis player named Rene.
It sounds mad in today’s world of technical performance sportswear, but before Renee Lacoste came along tennis players were expected to wear thick long sleeved shirts during games. They were hot, stiff and stuffy, and Rene was having none of it. In 1926 he designed his own short sleeved shirt from breathable pique cotton. On the chest he embroidered a crocodile, the nickname given to him by the press because of his pointy teeth and scaly green skin. Only joking. It’s because he was good at tennis. Much like crocodiles.
Rene’s shirt drew so much attention that in 1933 he took it to market, a radical move at the time, and one that kickstarted a seismic shift in fashion that’s still felt to this day. The Lacoste shirt was an instant hit with tennis players and golfers around Europe, eventually crossing over to the US through an importer named Izod, where it became common throughout college campuses in the 1950s, worn with collar popped or even doubled up, part of a look that’d become known as Preppy.
Rene Lacoste was long retired by this point, an injury forcing him out of the game at just 28, but his distinct crocodile logo was taking on a life of its own. Somewhat surprisingly, the unbeatable quality of Lacoste products and their association with tennis and golf, sports played by refined men of leisure, gave the brand a certain aspiration with upwardly mobile Working Class youths in Britain. Enter the Casuals.
When British football teams began playing in Europe in the 1970s, the young, often skint travelling fans would naturally rob as much Lacoste as they could carry from upmarket continental stores. This was before the days of CCTV and anti-theft tags. Nobody had thought to protect gentlemanly tenniswear from gangs of marauding youths.
Lacoste was now making an impact on the streets of Britain, its adoption by the Casuals cementing its place in style culture. The crocs began multiplying, appearing every week on terraces up and down the country, and in pastel colours, a little flash of Continental cool as the rain swept in from Merseyside to Moss Side. As Casual style evolved into various guises, the croc became one of the few labels to retain a strong following. Britpop in the 90s brought a wave of new fans, as Lacoste found its place with each turn of the cultural dial.
Today Lacoste balances its sportswear heritage with contemporary styling arguably better than anyone. Rene the rebel may have passed on aged 92, but from the streets of Marseille to the country clubs of Massachusetts, his name remains a universally recognised marker of quality, on tracksuits, footwear and beyond.