Lacoste has the benefit of being a brand that has connected athleisure and luxury, offering pieces that are at once trop sportif and trop française, and Lacoste’s Fall/Winter 2021 collection doesn’t stray from that. While creative director Louise Trotter’s latest collection is grounded in the classic Lacoste piqué cotton fabric, she then finds inspiration in fun, retro patterns, and bright colors to liven up the line, which includes trench coats, sweaters, skirts, and more. Trotter has found a way to make even tracksuits and slides look fantastical this season.
The Lacoste archive is rich with both heritage inspirations and unused or vintage materials. Trotter has married them nicely in these upcycled pieces. Shell suits, puffer coats, piqué tracksuits, and quilted liners are reconstructed from a patchwork of vintage and deadstock Lacoste fabrics, creating new geometries in classic sports shapes. ‘Framis’ bonding, drawstrings, and oversized rope toggle further the athletic and engineered feel of garments, as do neoprene crop tops and sculpted shorts for women.
Crisp unisex chinos feature elastic Velcro cuffs, polychrome leggings in neoprene, and patched knit zip high above the ankle, and speed stripes echo the racing aesthetic of checkerboard jacquard polos and trims. The Lacoste crocodile peeks out from jacket linings and a pastel all-over print, as tennis skirts in Japanese jersey are worn with racket and club print silk blouses, and boxy polo styles feature chunky knit collars, contrast plackets, and leather trims. Worn with cartoon-colored embossed molded slides, 5-panel cotton piqué caps, and oversized rucksacks, they complete the season’s exercise in dynamic sport style. It is also a genderless collection, something that is becoming more and more common across fashion.
The collection’s tracksuits and pool slides will pair well and that’s exactly how Trotter would wear them. In a time when everyone is questioning how to dress, a sure-footed and stylish creative director with a singular vision is a good guide.
Lacoste AW 2021 collection is now available at all Lacoste stores worldwide. To know more, like @LacostePhilippines on Facebook, @ssilifeph on Instagram, or visit www.lacoste.com.ph or www.ssilife.com.ph
