With his achievements and his inventions, René Lacoste marked the history of tennis. He is known by his nickname, the crocodile, which became the logo of Lacoste, the famous brand that created the polo shirt. Fashion journalist Stéphane Le Duc tells us about the player and the company he founded.
In tennis, René Lacoste made a name for himself among the “four musketeers” – Jean Borotra, Henri Cochet and Jacques Brugnon who completed the quartet – who won the Davis Cup six times between 1927 and 1932. .He has reaped victories, including the Wimbledon tournament, Britain. His nickname Crocodile came from his perseverance in training.
From the 1920s, he began to change. He was the first to use rolls of adhesive tape, used in the medical field, to surround the handle of the racket so as not to injure oneself.
In 1963, he designed the first steel racket with synthetic strings. From 1966 to 1978, Jimmy Connors and Billie Jean King won 46 Grand Slam titles using this racket. It sells nearly 6 million units.
A famous logo
In 1927, one of his friends, stylist Robert George, drew a crocodile with its mouth open and embroidered it on his white blazer. René Lacoste has embroidered it in 46 colors for each of his matches. Regarding the sweater, René Lacoste was inspired by polo players, but he added a collar, adjusted the height of the sleeves and changed the fabric of the tennis shirt.
” This famous polo will be copied, but primarily used by other players. […] The polo will be an impressive success. “
For nearly 30 years, the polo was offered in white only. This sports apparel appeals to a general non-athletic public. Today, there are more than 65 colors.
René Lacoste built the brand with his son, starting with perfumes. Clothing, sports shoes, glasses and bags inspired by tennis were added later.
Today, Lacoste is a large company around the world with its own boutiques.
“This image, after all, of the crocodile remains the image of a certain power, resilience, patience, constant effort: we have made these values very positive,” said Stéphane Le Duc.
Source: Radio-Canada
