LACOSTE, the chic sports brand known for its casual elegance, and Lesage, renowned haute couture embroiderer, are combining their respective values and know-how in a daring partnership initiated by Felipe Oliveira Baptista, artistic director of LACOSTE since 2010.

The women’s version of the iconic LACOSTE polo shirt celebrated its 50th anniversary this year. This triggered Oliveira Baptista to return to his first loves – architecture from his student days and haute couture that he embraced early in his career, mixing those on an unexpected playground: the LACOSTE couture polo shirt collection.

On these faux-oversized polo shirts and mini polo dresses with cuts that play with the skin, Oliveira Baptista has placed embroideries inspired by a multitude of graphic sources that echo the imagery of the 20th century. Rather than being a mere feature that enhances the garment, the embroidery conveys here its own dynamism and shows the colors of a clique, a community, an era. And it makes sense.

This is the message that was highlighted during the “Players” exhibition conceived by Alexandre de Betak at Palais de Tokyo on July 5th 2015, during Haute Couture week. The eight LACOSTE couture polo shirts displayed on busts revolved at the centre of a luminous geometrical construction that reflected the graphic inspiration of each model.