Is it a bird? A plane? A crocodile? Or an alligator? One thing we know for sure is that it’s a reptile. And it’s a reptile that gradually became synonymous with a single word: Preppy. Fashion historians agree that René Lacoste’s big-lizard-endorsed tennis shirts are the first example of a designer logo appearing on the outside of a garment. Spawning the birth of embroidered horses, swooshes, and a whole new level of elitism.
They say some people just seem to have it all. Like it wasn’t enough for René Lacoste to be born unto a wealthy Parisian family and to enjoy his status as the number one ranked tennis player in, um, toute le monde. He went and designed a tennis shirt whose popularity caught on faster than a whizzing tennis ball. But it wasn’t just that his shirts were oh so chic, they came with an added, unprecedented little bit of stitching. An exterior logo. “What’s that?!” cried all the upper-crust bourgeoisie throughout the French countryside as they choked on their canapés and champagne. (Actually, it sounded more like: “Qu’est-ce que c’est?!”.) (FYI: choking on canapés and champagne sounds the same in any language).
During the 1927 Davis Cup, René garnered the nickname “Le Crocodile” after the self-assured player made a deal with his coach who agreed to buy him a crocodile-skin suitcase should he win an important match. Like the jagged jaws of a tenacious lizard clamped on its helpless prey, so too did the nickname stick to René. And when a friend eventually sketched a crocodile and later had it later embroidered on his tennis blazer, voilá, the Lacoste logo was born.
But the image was to be representative of more than just one man’s personal icon of determination. It swiftly became an adored accessory on the lapels of European tennis players and by the time it made its debut in America in 1952, it was marketed as “the status symbol of the competent sportsman.” Over time becoming referred to as “The Alligator”, the logo lapel-hopped from the sportsman to the prep and in 1980 it earned must-have mention in Lisa Birnbach’s Official Preppy Handbook. And by 2005, Lacoste products were sold in over 110 countries. In short, the best word to describe what a tennis star would feel for his own profitable brand: Love.
