PARIS — The weather might not cooperate, but Lacoste designer Felipe Oliveira Baptista has a backup plan: He’ll leave the rain cover in place.
But if the sun shines, then the lid will be off and the label’s first Paris ready-to-wear show in 13 years will be in a stadium-like setting surrounded by trees.
“I really wanted to do it outdoors, somewhere iconic and close to Lacoste. It was difficult to find a place that seats a thousand people,” explained Baptista.
That spot turned out to be a corner of the Tuileries Garden, bang in the middle of Paris and just a stone’s throw from the Jeu de Paume museum — a historic site where Parisians played a popular indoor game considered the predecessor to tennis.
The venue signals a wish for the brand to return to its sports roots and French heritage.
“Sport-inspired and French elegance, these are the two pillars we are leaning on,” noted Thierry Guibert, chief executive officer of Lacoste, which belongs to the Swiss retail group Maus Frères SA.
He found the label unfocused when he took the helm of the company around three years ago.
“One of the main tasks when I arrived was to give the brand a clear direction,”
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