ALMOST EVERYONE has memories of wearing a Lacoste shirt. And until recently, it was just that, a memory. The short-sleeved, knitted polo shirt originally designed by French tennis champion Rene Lacoste in 1933 was popular on and off the tennis court, even making it into The Official Preppy Handbook in the early 1980s as standard-issue attire.
Yet suddenly, Lacoste disappeared from the fashion radar as the popularity of preppy fashion dimmed and the likes of Polo Ralph Lauren muscled their way onto the scene with their own brand of polo shirts and marketing savvy.
But renewed interest in athletic and casual fashion has marked a rebound for Lacoste. In the past two years, sales of its shirts and accessories in the US have doubled and numerous new stores are planned around the world. The revival of the brand is likely also to be connected with the appointment in 2000 of Christophe Lemaire as the first chief designer for Lacoste. Following in the tradition of brand overhauls that began with Tom Ford for Gucci, Lemaire has been charged with refreshing the label.
Frenchman Lemaire trained under Christian Lacroix and it is hoped that with his high-fashion background, he will be able to bring style to a sportswear brand. As he is also known for his skills as a DJ, he was seen as 'someone who is very modern, who knows what is happening and will keep us in touch with the modern world, which is very good for the brand', according to Philippe Lacoste, grandson of Rene Lacoste and the company's director of external relations.
The designer, a thoughtful and soft-spoken 39-year-old, whose personal style is more subtle than overtly fashionable, says his appointment is good timing. 'I hope my coming and my work has helped,' says Lemaire during a visit to New York. 'But I think people were expecting this brand to make a comeback because it's sportswear, which is one of the biggest and deepest fashion revolutions of the century. People's lifestyles have changed, high fashion and luxury still exist, but, increasingly, people want a more casual relationship with fashion. People are taking sports elements into everyday life. This idea of functionality and comfort is very powerful today and I think sports brands are very strong now because of that.'
Philippe Lacoste agrees. 'At the beginning, people used to wear Lacoste shirts just to play tennis or golf,' he says. 'Now it is a fashion item.'