"Inventor! It's the profession I would put on my business card. I've been inventing all my life," said the tenacious and versatile Frenchman René Lacoste on more than one occasion. Born at the dawn of the 20th century, he not only reached number one in the world ranking in 1927, but also patented a ball-throwing machine to gain mobility and shot quality. But today he is especially remembered for an emblem, a green gigi alligator with open red jaws that he asked a designer to embroider on the pocket of his jacket.
The reason? While preparing for the Davis Cup in Boston she became infatuated with a crocodile skin suitcase. His coach, in a joking tone, told him that if he won the tournament (he would end up losing it) he would buy it from her. A journalist from the Boston Evening Transcript told the anecdote and that was the reason why René began to be called the Crocodile.
The first polo shirt was made in what remains today the emblematic material of the Lacoste house, piqué cotton. A light fabric with relief patterns that allows breathability and that has been perfected through new technologies in the textile industry. The original model was white, but gradually it began to be dyed from navy blue to red until today it is available in more than 60 colors and different prints, as we have seen for years in the clothing of Novak Djokovik and Daniil Medvedev.
The polo shirt is a sine qua non of an elegant wardrobe. It began its journey on the tennis courts where René Lacoste played, to take its name from Ralph Lauren, who, in 1972, incorporated it into his men's clothing line with a polo player on a horse as its logo. Thus, the polo shirt became an essential garment in the wardrobes of the wealthy classes and of university students from the North American Ivy League.
“It evokes that relaxed and perfect silhouette of the French Riviera and the sophistication of the Hamptons, in addition to being a chic wild card in any style, even in street style,” explains Romain Casella, founder and director of the Public Relations agency MAY Concepts and Professor at the University of Westminster.
Roberto Cordero points out in an article published in The Business of Fashion that the growing popularity of tennis among a large part of the population is estimated today at one billion people. The social acceptance of the polo shirt as a garment not only used for sports is linked to the triangulation of leisure-sport-social success and to certain aesthetic dress codes associated with the protocols of sports clubs.
We are facing almost a banner of the values of sophistication and individuality. “The so-called tenniscore, which conquers the new generations, has meant that polo shirts, cardigans, V-neck sweaters and pleated skirts are both on the catwalk and are icons of the Y2K aesthetic,” says Joy Clements, professor at the Central Saint Martins design school in London.
With all this, the main haute couture fashion brands have decided to bet on tennis and its youngest stars. “There is a new generation of players, charismatic, adulated by social networks and with a taste for fashion who are creating a new path for brands to connect with their audience,” says Cordero. This is the case of two of the best players on the current tennis circuit, Carlos Alcaraz, sponsored by Louis Vuitton, and Jannik Sinner, by Gucci.
Polo has made a space in different rhythms of life and vital moments of several generations. This is demonstrated by the proposals of several companies for this spring-summer, both in cotton and in new fabrics such as mesh, neoprene, jacquard and even crochet, for both men and women. The color palette ranges from black, which we see in classic proposals from Hermès and COS, as well as a variety of greens and the range from yellow to brown.
Tommy Hilfiger has counted on Kendall Jenner for its campaign, while Fred Perry has put aside his rebellion to offer more sober looks. Diarte, Designer's Society and Huarte, who even dares to wear the most nautical striped polo, represent the Spanish team against the French Sandro and IKKS, as if it were a match in the next Olympics. Perhaps the Gauls have greater experience in their ranks, with Lacoste, which has launched a daring campaign with cardigans, midi-cut polos that can be worn over pants and the essential trench when it is still cool at dusk.
