Lacoste
After retiring from tennis, René Lacoste founded La Chemise Lacoste in 1933 with André Gillier, the owner and President of the largest French knitwear manufacturing firm at the time. They began to produce the revolutionary tennis shirt Lacoste had designed and worn on the tennis courts with the crocodile logo embroidered on the chest. To the best of our knowledge, this was the first time that a brand name had appeared on the outside of an article of clothing.

The Lacoste shirt immediately revolutionised men’s sportswear, replacing the classical woven fabric, long-sleeved and starched shirts which players had worn on the courts until then with a jersey pique. Today, the choice between Lacoste and Ralph Lauren generally comes down to colour and cut, the American polo is cut longer and narrower whilst the Lacoste version is slightly shorter with a bigger collar. Aspecto are delighted to include this heritage brand within our Spring Summer 2010 offering.