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René Lacoste entered the
legend of tennis when he and his team-mates “The
Musketeers”, stole the Davis Cup away from the Americans for
the first time, in 1927. Not forgetting his 3 French Open
victories, his two victories in Great Britain, and his two
U.S. Open titles at Forest Hills
René Lacoste was born in
France on July 2nd 1904 and died on October 12th 1996. The
true story of the “Alligator” begins in 1927. René Lacoste
liked to recount how his nickname became an emblem
recognized throughout the world.
“I was nicknamed “the
Alligator” by the American press, after I made a bet with
Captain of the French Davis Cup Team concerning a suitcase
made from alligator skin. He promised to buy it for me if I
won a very important match for out team. The public must
have been fond of this nickname which conveyed the tenacity
I displayed on the tennis courts, never letting go of my
prey!”
“So my friend Robert George
drew an alligator which I then had embroidered on the blazer
I wore on the courts.”
An attentive spectator at
René Lacoste’s Davis Cup matches was the winner of the
British Women’s golf title, Mademoiselle Simone Thion de la
Chaume, who soon became his wife and constant support.
In 1933 René Lacoste and
André Gillier, the owner and President of the largest French
knitwear manufacturing firm of that time, set up a company
to manufacture the logo-embroidered shirt. The champion had
designed this for his own use on the tennis court, as well
as a number of other shirts for tennis, golf, and sailing –
as can be seen in the first catalogue, produced in 1933.
To the best of our knowledge,
this was the first time that a brand name appeared on the
outside of an article of clothing – and idea which has since
become extremely successful.
This shirt revolutionized
men’s sportswear and replaced the woven fabric, long –
sleeved, starched classic shirts. The first Lacoste shirt
was white, slightly shorter than its counterparts, had a
ribbed collar, short sleeves with ribbed brands and was made
of a light knitted fabric called “Jersey petit piqué”. It
continues to offer the same quality, comfort and solidity on
which it built its name and which constitute its uniqueness. |
