Rene Lacoste was a French tennis player and businessman nicknamed “The Crocodile”. A professional ahead of his time, with a series of Grand Slam titles to his name, Lacoste’s tennis was defined by a sense of 1920s style and elegance. Playing and winning were not enough; he wanted to do it in style.

It is this style that Rene translated into the popular Lacoste brand. Known world wide as the creator of the Lacoste tennis shirt, he founded La Chemise Lacoste with Andre Gillier in 1933. 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.

As the brand developed, Lacoste produced shirts for golf and sailing. In 1951, the company began to expand as it branched from “tennis white” and introduced coloured shirts. In 1952, the shirts were exported to the United States and advertised as “the status symbol of the competent sportsman”.

The company also began to introduce other products into their line including shorts, perfume, shoes and watches. The Lacoste frame collection has since been added to the range, with frames inspired by the original mesh weave found on the famous Lacoste polo shirts.