Lacoste, Lacoste Polo Shirts, Lacoste Clothing - Tessuti

Lacoste, sport and jersey

Top tennis player Rene Lacoste wowed the crowds in the 1920s. After winning Wimbledon in 1925, Lacoste was part of the team to win the Davis Cup away from the US for the first time in 1927, doing it again in 1928. Lacoste, known as the Alligator, also won three French Open titles, and was victorious at the US Open in 1926 and 1927.

At the time, tennis players played in uncomfortable starched shirts which chafed the skin and impeded good tennis playing. Lacoste, an inventor at heart, took the task in hand and turned his eye to Jersey, a new fabric. The result was the form the world has come to know as Lacoste polo shirts.

Lacoste polo shirts: ‘The Alligator’ roars

The alligator logo that is instantly recognisable as the brand that defines quality polo shirts has an interesting history. In his tennis days, Lacoste made a bet with a teammate concerning an alligator-skin suitcase and a match win. Lacoste won the match and the bet, and the press took the nickname 'Alligator' from the tale.

The player had affection for the name himself, and had small alligators embroidered on the shirts he designed to play in. The distinctive alligator logo for Lacoste polo shirts was born.

The beginnings of a snappy designer

It was in 1933 that Lacoste met with Andre Gillier, owner of France's biggest knitwear firm, to make the Lacoste polo shirts that the world would soon come to love. Gillier agreed to manufacture the Lacoste clothing design, complete with the alligator logo that was already a feature on Lacoste's own polo shirts.

The Lacoste polo shirts that were distributed after this agreement were revolutionary in more than one way. Until then, sports clothing had gone unbranded. The snappy little alligator that featured on the front of Lacoste clothing was something new, and the world loved it. Lacoste clothing soon began to produce shirts for golf and sailing, as well as tennis.

Design based on sports knowledge

The Lacoste polo shirt was revolutionary down to its very fabric. Until Lacoste clothing addressed the issue, tennis shirts were long-sleeved, starched affairs which heavily restricted movement. Lacoste came up with the idea of using the light, knitted fabric of Jersey petit pique, which not only promoted more movement but allowed for the skin to breathe during play. Lacoste polo shirts had shorter sleeves, and a ribbed collar that completed the most comfortable shirt in tennis history.

Satisfied with these truly revolutionary leaps, Lacoste no doubt made tennis snobs happy by remaining satisfied with white as a colour. The palette of colours which set off the stylish, slim-fit Lacoste polo shirts today were much further down the track for the design house.

Match point for modern design

Christophe Lemaire, a French designer who has been working to infuse the brand with modern ideas, has made the brand again a must for any sports-minded male. Here at Tessuti we're happy to provide our customers with access to the shirts that tennis stars like Andy Roddick, Stanislas Wawrinka and Richard Gasquet sample. Lacoste clothing suits any sport, and the slim fit of modern Lacoste designs dress up a casual day.