What Lacoste outfit will Djokovic wear to the French Open?

MONACO — Upon signing Novak Djokovic to be its New Croc, Lacoste also designed a complete tennis collection for him and shot a new campaign marrying past and present: images merging the original Crocodile, René Lacoste, with the New Crocodile, Djokovic. It seems the iconic croc has come full circle, just in time for Lacoste’s 85th anniversary next year. And it seems the brand is going back to its original DNA.

“When I joined the company three years ago, the team and I decided to refocus on two main assets: sports and elegance,” says Lacoste CEO Thierry Guibert. “We plan to develop the brand through values, which is very important because behind Lacoste you do not buy only a polo, shirt or sweater, you’re buying values and commitments like tenacity, fair play, commitment, humility.”

Lacoste hasn’t had a tennis star of Djokovic’s magnitude since the original Croc. What took them so long to sign a major player?

“When I joined Lacoste the positioning of the brand was quite unclear in terms of sport, fashion, casual — what the brand was expressing to the consumer,” Guibert admits. “Sport was the DNA of the brand, so we just had to cultivate this value, and then we had to look for a great ambassador.”

That was more of a challenge than Guibert expected. The New Croc had to embody Lacoste’s values, have global appeal, and it wouldn’t hurt if he was good-looking and could carry Lacoste’s polos with panache, either. There were maybe three or four guys in the world that fit that description, but the search was long and difficult, taking years.

“Then I met Novak last year during the French Open, and it was a big day,” Guibert recalls. “I had a very nice discussion with him, and felt he was very interested in taking care of others, in trying to be positive, always respectful vis-a-vis all the people, so it was an amazing meeting I’ll remember all my life.”

The Grand Slam champion, who started playing tennis at four years old, had founded his own Novak Djokovic Foundation, which provides education to preschool children. “I put a lot of energy into the foundation and philanthropy, also tennis development in Serbia,” Djokovic says. “I want to create a different legacy that will stand alone for a long time.”

The two got along so well that, even if the Serb was also being courted by a couple of major sports brands, he told Guibert that he would go with Lacoste.

“Lacoste is unique because it’s not only a sports brand but fashion and has a very special and recognizable look, design, and feel,” Djokovic says. “Being the New Croc and entering a new chapter of my life with Lacoste will bring me a lot of responsibility — to realize a lot of success on the court but at the same time be aligned with these values.”

Lacoste’s Novak Djokovic collection

What will the 2016 French Open champion wear to defend his title when the tournament starts May 28?

“Lacoste is one of the biggest and best companies in sport, so they’ll come up with the best possible material for their athletes,” Djokovic states. “I’m expecting some light materials with sweat absorption that are easy to wear.”

At Roland Garros the agile Serb is bound to feel Lacoste’s legacy more than ever. Not only has the company been a French Open partner since 1971, the stadium was originally built for France’s Four Musketeers, one of whom was René Lacoste.

“I’ll be playing on Lacoste’s home court, so it will feel very special,” Djokovic says. “After five years, changing the brand and sponsor, I hope this time it’s forever, so I’m excited and really looking forward to Roland Garros, and glad to join the other Lacoste players.”

Known for his hilariously accurate impersonations of other famous tennis players like Nadal, Sharapova and Federer, Djoko, aka The Joker, has gone beyond his gluten-free diet to a healthy, holistic lifestyle that takes into account both mind and body.

“I meditate and do yoga for peace and a calm state of mind, happiness and joy,” he says. “Everybody has their way to reach that state: feeling loving towards yourself, the people around you, and the planet.”

Djokovic says food is important to any athlete, but is a personal passion of his. “My gluten intolerance was discovered in 2010; before that I didn’t even know what gluten was. I’ve also removed dairy products and refined sugar from my diet, which is maybe more important than gluten itself. It’s helped me become a better tennis player but also a healthier person — an athlete that recovers faster. It’s a fuel that I try to use in the best possible way.”

The young Nole grew up knowing that the polo was Lacoste’s signature product because he saw his father and mother wearing Lacoste their entire lives. “Opening my father’s closet and seeing all the different colors of Lacoste, I’ll have to revisit his closet again and update and upgrade it a little bit more,” he jokes.

Pinoys: The Lacoste loyalists

Lacoste, sold in over 125 countries around the world, has partnered with major sporting events like the French Open, the Olympics, and most recently, the Shanghai Open.

I tell Guibert that Lacoste has very high brand recognition among Filipinos loyal to Lacoste, and he brightens.

“I will go to Manila for the first time in October,” the CEO says. “The Philippines is a big market for us. In Asia it’s probably in the top five markets, and we have a big partnership with the distributor, SSI (Stores Specialists, Inc.), and awareness of the brand is very high. We are doing a great job with apparel but also with leather goods that Filipinos are in love with. So I’m very happy, we’re growing double digits each year since the past two or three years.”

To celebrate Lacoste ’s 85th anniversary next year, Guibert says they’re emphasizing the brand’s French heritage.  “First we will have a fashion show in Paris,” he says. “It’s important to come back to France and leverage the French identity, and show that the brand can be among the other very high-end French brands like Dior.”

Lacoste’s fall/winter 2017 collection, designed by creative manager Felipe Oliveira Baptista with an outer-space theme, was its most directional and imaginative yet, so I ask if they plan to continue in this vein — moving towards fashion and away from sportswear, casualwear and athleisure.

“I’m very happy with the fall/winter collection because it’s a mix between comfort, casual, and fashion,” Guibert says. “We have to be very cautious about what we’re doing with our collections because we cannot be only fashion. We can give you clothes that you can wear on a day-to-day basis, comfortable, with design and chic elegance.”

The CEO, who used to head an international group before he joined Lacoste, is keenly aware of the zeitgeist and more than ready to bridge Lacoste’s past with its future, as we saw in Lacoste’s new commercial, a love story in which a 1930s couple lose each other in a train station, intercut with images of their modern, 21st-century selves in the same predicament. He chases after her through a train — and through time — until both couples are finally reunited in a romantic, Somewhere In Time-type ending.

“Lacoste was during the past mainly a polo brand, and I think the brand must be more than that — a lifestyle brand,” Guibert says. He plans to push key product categories like apparel, footwear, and leather goods even further.

“For me, the two main segments that are growing fastest in the world are sport and travel,” he says, “because people are traveling more and more, especially from Asia.” Lacoste is almost a century ahead on the sports angle, but don’t be surprised if they become a key player in travel as well: “To have a collection with comfortable things that you can wear on the plane or take with you on holiday or for business — these are the two main areas that are very important for the future.”

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 In the Philippines, Lacoste and Lacoste Accessories are exclusively distributed by Stores Specialists, Inc., a member of SSI Group, Inc. Visit www.ssilife.com.ph for more information. Shop online at Lacoste.com.ph, or find the store nearest you at www.lacoste.com/ae/stores/philippines.

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