Lacoste, Jean René

(1904-1996)

   French tennis legend René Lacoste revolutionized men's sportswear with a short-sleeved collared shirt in 1927 that featured a crocodile on the left breast. The company was run for more than four decades by René's son, Bernard, who is credited with building the company into a global sports brand. In 2005, the year Bernard retired, forty-eight million Lacoste-branded articles were sold. Leadership was passed to his younger brother, Michael. In 1933, Lacoste created a business selling the shirts called La Société Chemise Lacoste. In 1951, David Crystal Inc. imported them from France to sell under the Izod label. In 1993, the Izod affiliation ended and Lacoste reentered the U.S. market on its own in 1996. In 2003, the France-based company gave exclusive rights to Idea Workshop, an apparel marketing firm, to bring Lacoste Sportswear to the U.S market. Paris designer Christophe Lemarire succeeded Gilles Rossier as creative director at Lacoste and presented his first runway show in 2003. Lacoste operates more than forty boutiques and outlets in the United States, with expansion plans in the works. The far-reaching collection consists of luxury sportswear for men, women, and children, as well as footwear, fragrances, and a $100 limited-edition polo shirt with a silver alligator especially for Barneys New York.

   See also Lacoste shirt.