Essay About Lacoste Tennis Shirt And Famous French Tennis Player

Lacoste
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Lacoste is a French apparel company. They sell clothing, footwear, perfume and eyewear. The company is easily recognized by its green crocodile logo and its products are amongst the most popular and fashionable of any apparel company. Lacoste is headquartered in Paris, France. RenД© Lacoste a famous French tennis player invented the Lacoste tennis shirt in 1929 and in 1933, he and AndrД© Gillier founded the company. RenД© Lacoste entered the legend of tennis when he and his team-mates stole the Davis Cup away from the Americans for the first time, in 1927. The true story of the “Crocodile” begins in 1927. He was nicknamed “the Alligator” by the American press. The public must have been fond of this nickname which conveyed the tenacity he displayed on the tennis courts. RenД© Lacostes friend Robert George drew a crocodile which he then embroidered on the blazer he wore on the courts. In 1933, RenД© Lacoste and AndrД© Gillier, the owner and President of the largest French knitwear manufacturing firm of that time, set up a company to manufacture the logo-embroidered shirt. The champion had designed this for his own use on the tennis court, as well as a number of other shirts for tennis, golf and sailing. The first catalogue was produced in 1933. This shirt revolutionized mens sportswear and replaced the woven fabric, long-sleeved, starched classic shirts. The first LACOSTE shirt was white, slightly shorter than its counterparts, had a ribbed collar, short sleeves with ribbed bands and was made of a light knitted fabric. It continues to offer the same quality, comfort and solidity on which it built its name and which constitute its uniqueness.