Lacoste

Developed from sportswear to leisure wear, Lacoste still take the lead from sport to maximise the performance of the clothing. But design, style and trend now play a part in the collection that we see today.

The Lacoste story began in 1904 with the birth of Rene Lacoste who, at the age of 17, won his first tennis tournament. A tennis legend was born and he went on to win his first French Open in 1924 aged just 20.

The iconic crocodile Lacoste logo came from Rene Lacoste’s nickname ‘Alligator’ given to him by the press, after rumours of a bet involving an alligator skin suitcase. In 1926, commissioned the design of a crocodile, inspired by his nickname, this design is still the Lacoste logo nearly a century after its first appearance.

1929 saw Rene Lacoste play his last game, but it was only the beginning of his career. The development of his inventions, including the tennis ball machine, and writing took over from tennis until clothing design came to the fore. Starting with the short sleeved polo shirt, modelled on the British polo player’s kit, which had short sleeves for maximum movement and breathable fabric.

The Lacoste range quickly expanded to include polo shirts in a variety of colours, tennis shoes, lightweight jackets, knitwear, fragrance, children’s ranges alongside his new inventions, the steel tennis racket and patented collar.

To this day Lacoste remains a brand with sport at the heart of everything it produces, whether it is the technical pieces or fashion forward collections.

Shop the Lacoste collection at The Hut for one of the UK’s largest range of classic Lacoste polo shirts, tops, jackets, shirts, shorts and trainers.