In a fitting move, Lacoste headed back to the Roland-Garros Stadium, home of the French Open, to stage its fall/winter 2025 collection during this most recent Paris Fashion Week. After all, no fashion brand is as inextricably linked to tennis as the one founded by René Lacoste, a star of the sport before he turned his eye to entrepreneurship. For this latest collection, however, creative director Pelagia Kolotouros sought not only to capture his athletic style, but the richness of his life off the court. In addition to his sportsman credentials, Lacoste the man was also an aesthete and socialite who thrived in the café society of the Thirties.
Related article: The Runway Rundown: Debuts & Dress Codes Kick Start Paris Fashion Week
Thus, the resulting collection spanned pieces for sport and leisure as well as dressier looks for work and parties. There was a whiff of the Twenties and Thirties to the collection’s silhouettes but Kolotouros smartly avoided being too retro or literal, and remixed those influences with the clean and lean lines of the Nineties to give the clothes a more contemporary attitude. The opening section put a new spin on tennis whites with utilitarian pieces in technical performance fabrics. Next came a series of wardrobe staples in the warm hue of clay courts—think parkas and puffers, as well as trench coats, boiler suits and lightweight knits that can easily transition off the court and onto city streets. The collection then shifted into off-duty mode with chunky ribbed knits for him, and fluid silky dresses for her.
Related article: Miu Miu Was Cool-Girl Catnip
As we entered the eveningwear portion of the collection, Kolotouros sent out a burst of colour via hot magenta tailoring, which she softened with silver knits that looked like tinsel. The closing section was rendered in a rich emerald green. Highlights include sheer embroidered slips layered over t-shirts, a fitted leather jacket with an oversized ribbed-knit collar, and a polo shirt transformed into a fuzzy floor-length dress. High-low combos, like a slouchy polo shirt worn with a beaded cocktail skirt, epitomised the collection’s cool-girl approach to dressing up.
Related article: Exclusive: Chriselle Lim On Phlur, Fashion Week Prep & Personal Evolution
In contrast to the casual chic of the clothes, the accessories struck a more playful tone—especially the ones that made clever little nods to the sport. Handbags were shaped like fanned-out, pleated tennis skirts, or crafted from tennis net material and then jazzed up with bling. Shoelaces became belts, and medals dangled off necks and waists like talismanic charms. The crocodile is a brand emblem—and René Lacoste’s nickname—and so there were both racket bags embossed in croc, as well as giant glittering brooches in the form of the reptile.