Staged on the legendary Philippe Chatrier court at Roland-Garros stadium, Lacoste’s Fall-Winter 2026 show transforms the court into a famous match interrupted
On July 31, 1923, René Lacoste faced Manuel de Gomar, Spain’s top tennis player, in a Davis Cup round in Deauville when a downpour flooded the grass court, prompting spectators to throw newspapers on it to speed drying. Players and onlookers weathered the torrent, sheltering under umbrellas and donning trench coats, ponchos, slickers and rubber boots.
Rainfall stretched the match to two days, but Lacoste prevailed, winning in four sets and advancing France to the finals. The washedout match set young René on the road to becoming a world champion.
For Fall-Winter 2026, Creative Director Pelagia Kolotouros draws inspiration from that event and its twin idea of souvenir – a memory of tension and resolve, preparation and performance, what it takes to wait and win. Expanding on functional elegance, she looks to the stands and examines Lacoste’s heritage not in the heat of competition but in those interstitial moments where spectator culture matters as much as, if not more than, what transpires center court.
Having introduced a new relationship to outerwear in previous seasons, Pelagia Kolotouros pursues the thought through waterproofing and technical fabrication: the trench as foundation, the poncho as evolved polo, bonded tech wool as shield against the elements. Padded and voluminous pieces in transparent nylon, or with wet or reflective finishes, layer and contrast with sensual, plush velvet and the soft tailoring of the emblematic René blazer. The crocodile returns in confident new expressions, worked into embroideries and emblem treatments that honor the archives.
Raw functionality meets refinement in this Lacoste’s Roots Collaboration: a capsule cocreated with Mackintosh, the legendary Scottish outerwear house founded in 1824. Renowned for its mastery of rubberized fabric, Mackintosh continues to make garments largely as it always has, its signature color-matched, waterproofed cotton handglued and hand-taped according to techniques passed down since the 19th century.
From a dialogue between two heritages forged by weather and performance come key silhouettes that take brand classics into fresh territory: a poncho polo, a rain-proof tracksuit, a pleated trench skirt, a hybrid track jacket shirt. Heritage patterns emerge on technical fabrics. Iconic cable-knit sweaters keep company with high-performance nylons. Mackintosh’s techniques inform outerwear that is at once impeccably functional and unmistakably Lacoste. Largely gender-fluid, Neo-Tennis pieces channel the energy of sport without being defined by it – at home in the world, covering without sacrificing covetability.
Shape and texture favor what Lacoste calls “tech-heritage,” a distillation of athletic and archival, performance and poetry. Fan culture favorites like weathered trophy pins, Grand Slam T-shirts, the iconic tracksuit and a digital watch with a stretch bracelet extend the collection’s vocabulary. The Lenglen bag reappears this season in new proportions, its urban-sporty silhouette finished with a silicon grip handle, while a racquet cover and tennis ball clutch are crafted in Mackintosh technical fabrics.
The Fall-Winter palette reflects colors intensified by the elements, a shift from cool to warm, from overcast to vivid. A prism of cool greys, inky heathers and dark wet metals deepens across base fabrics, while Agave Green evokes verdant grass after a downpour and Rusty Red references the clay of Roland-Garros, quickly covered against sudden rain.
The Lacoste Fall-Winter 2026 collection reflects the depth of what a young René must have understood as he left that flooded court: The real game isn’t just a battle of opponents – it belongs to the perpetual dialogue between the body and the elements.
