Many of the models at Lacoste carried bunches of keys: what was that about? “The idea was to ask yourself what you might find in your grandfather’s attic. If you found an old steamer trunk, what would be those little artifacts from the past?” Pelagia Kolotouros’s rhetorical questions nicely encapsulated her self-appointed task at this peak piqué producer of crocodile logo tennis-based sportswear: to use the founder René Lacoste as an inspirational key in order to unlock design that takes the brand he founded into a new territory: lifestyle.
After many seasons, Lacoste now seems set on producing its runway collections in earnest. The amount of well-followed individuals at this show wearing boxfresh Lacoste—many also carrying croc-embossed bags apparently heaped with more goodies from some gifting suite—were almost too many to seat in the front row their outfits were meant to grace. Kolotouros warmed up with some looks that were meant to reflect her sense of off-duty René: backless sectioned vests and high-waisted short-shorts that echoed images she’d seen of the founder at the beach in the 1920s.
The designer hit her stride with some interesting collisions between the formality of sportswear of the same period and the fabrics for which Lacoste is best known (crocodile apart). Viscose-spiked piqué was an ace fabric for her roomy suiting, along with a semi-tattered terry toweling that resembled an appealingly unprecious boucle. If these pieces were her killer forehand, then the backhand equivalent were the three styles of tracksuit—so contemporary suiting—in elevated fabrics. The curve at the back of a track jacket cut in black sateen and lemon yellow leather was especially on (match) point. Bags incorporating side panels of tennis netting or shaped as the section of a pleated tennis skirt were tricksily cute. Shirts featuring mega-croc prints were easy hits—but when you can take them, you play them. For Kolotouros, precisely understanding what question she wants her version of Lacoste to answer will be the key to leveling up this brand: if she hasn t quite unlocked it yet, she is certainly knocking on the door.
