The French brand called on designer Peter Saville – famous for founding Factory Records, and also for having designed the uniforms for England’s football team – to reinterpret their mythic polo for Lacoste’s 100th anniversary. But it’s the crocodile that he chose to alter by keeping the same size and shape. What amused him was the universality and egalitarianism of the crocodile brand. From children playing football in the favelas of Rio to the yachts of Monaco, everyone wears a polo. Lacoste is neither high class or low: it’s an icon. And like every icon, the most interesting thing to do with it is to rework it. Upon discovering the end result, Lacoste purportedly exclaimed: “What has he done!?” But what was put on the table was funny, full of life, and it made them smile. Finally, a resounding “Why not?” definitively closed the debate. This is how Peter Saville was able to get his distorsions approved.
With him at the reigns, the reptile twists and turns to become wavy, ruffled, blurred, scribbled, or minimalist. A total of two polo collections were released this weekend. The Holiday Collector N°8 line including a white model available in male and female styles with a choice of eight crocodiles, the Édition Limitée that includes 160 polos: 80 polos for men and 80 polos for women, with just as many different logos. Each is unique, and the artist was able to preserve the original colors from 1933: a white polo and green logo on the left breast.
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