LACOSTE Oversized Logo Polo-T

The Lacoste logo depicts a crocodile and heralds back to the days of René Lacoste, who won the 1925 and 1928 Wimbledon tournaments.
At the time of these tournaments, the tennis players still were required to play their games wearing long-sleeved white shirts with standing collars. This was not a very comfortable proposition for players and as a result, René Lacoste began to team up with André Gillier to design and produce a new short sleeve polo shirt made of a light-weave fabric, which was softer and more flexible when moving, running and stretching.
Acoording to René Lacoste, the American press nicknamed him "the Crocodile" after a bet that he made with the Captain of the French Davis Cup team. He had promised Lacoste a crocodile-skin suitcase if the man won an important match. Although Lacoste didn't win, the American public stuck to this nickname, which highlighted his tenacity on the tennis courts, never giving up his prey! Lacoste's friend Robert George then drew him a crocodile which was embroidered on the blazer that he wore on the courts.

It is that original Robert George crocodile that is being issued on these new Lacoste big logo pique polo.
While oversized logos may not be everyone’s cup of tea, we like these for the historical provenance and (dare we say, hehe) non-Polo-ness.
Plus, this croc may actually be big enough to threaten that other oversized logo (of the, ahem, equestrian kind) ;-)
(Available in various colours.)


Last April, Lacoste chairman and CEO Michel Lacoste (son of René) announced that the company was participating in the “Save Your Logo” initiative, a campaign by the Global Environmental Facility (supported by the World Bank and the International Union for Conservation of Nature) which allows private companies/institutions to contribute in the preservation of biodiversity on the planet by committing to the protection of the animal that represents their logo.
Although many companies and organizations (including giants like Puma, Peugeot, Jaguar) are using symbols of animals/biodiversity as logos or for their communication needs, none have participated in this project so far. Lacoste is actually the first major international brand to support the campaign.


One other trivia: Just this week Lacoste signed Alexa Chung, one of fashion's most sought-after 'It' girls, to model for its upcoming fragrance. The ads are set to roll out next January.