Lacoste - Sporty Fashion

Lacoste is one of today's most popular label of fashion items.
It is known throughout the world as a French apparel company
that designs and markets a wide line of high end fragrances,
clothing, footwear, tennis shirts, watches, eyewear, and leather
goods. What is most noted about Lacoste is its green crocodile
logo, aside from its high quality products and accessories.

Lacoste was founded in 1933 by a French tennis player named
Rene Lacoste. He first introduced his own creation to the public
when he wore his very own shirt in the 1926 U.S. Open
Championship. His design was described by most reports as a
white shirt featuring short sleeves made of a knitted fabric
which he calls as the "jersey petit pique". He described his
jersey design as the very first light version of performance
sports clothing.

Rene Lacoste was named "The Alligator" by the American Press
since 1927. The reason behind this naming was the bet made about
the use of a suitcase made of alligator skin. Rene actually wore
his self created jersey in the 1927 Davis Cup, but without any
related name available in his native language, he was then named
as "le crocodile" in French.

The new nickname suited him for one reason – Rene Lacoste
showing his tenacious behavior while on the court. It was his
friend, Robert Georges, who decided to create a logo for Rene,
then drawing him a crocodile. That image was embroidered by Rene
himself on one of his tennis blazers.

After retiring from the world of tennis, Rene established his
fashion company in 1933 with the help of one of his successful
friends, Andre Gillier. Gillier, at that time, was the president
and owner of one of the France's knitwear manufacturing
companies. With their efforts, they started to create and
distribute a line of tennis shirts that were revolutionary
inspired. The crocodile logo is embroidered on the shirt's
chest, and this what considered by Rene Lacoste as the first
model of his brand name. He also designed and manufactured
shirts for the sailors and golfers, and it was in 1951 that he
began producing colored sportswear.

In 1970, under the management of Rene's son, Bernard Lacoste,
the company started to produce a variety of other fashion items.
Included in their lines are perfumes, sunglasses and eye
glasses, shoes, watches, shorts, and leather-made items. All of
which were able to establish a name in the fashion industry
mainly for their high quality. The quality and style of these
products were made even more stronger with the coming of
Christophe Lemaire, a French designer who had been contributing
his efforts and time in creating the best fashion lines of
Lacoste. More than 50 million of Lacoste products were sold
under his management, as reported.

Today, Michael Bernard's brother and collaborator, manages
Lacoste. The company has been licensing its trademark to a
number of fashion and sports companies around the world,
including the Pentland Brands and Samsonite. The main office is
located in Paris, but they delegate their products
internationally.


About The Author: James Philips is a staff memeber at
http://www.perfumecenter.com