Lacoste Staged Its Spring 2027 Show on Roland-Garros Clay and Made the Sweat Stains the Point

Lacoste showed its Spring 2027 collection on Sunday, October 4, on the clay of Court Philippe Chatrier at Roland-Garros. Creative director Pelagia Kolotouros titled it 'Dress Code: No White Required', and the show was about what happens to a tennis outfit once the match starts.

Lacoste's own release says the court was covered in clay, a nod to the factory where the clay is produced, and that the runway traced an infinity loop across it. Kolotouros told WWD her starting point was 'quiet rebellion', the kind René Lacoste practised in the 1920s when he cut the sleeves off his shirt for comfort and speed. What interested her was what that looks like now.

Her answer, per WWD, was sweat. Polos were shrunk to cling and punched with sweat-stain patterns, joggers sagged to expose waistbands, and a long blouson and trouser set in washed silk looked worn in. White looks later appeared stained with clay or sweat, which WWD says was done with steam on a stack of fabrics that respond differently to heat and moisture. Kolotouros summed it up for the outlet: 'I think sport is sexy.'

Lacoste's release fills in the palette and fabrics: softened garment-dyed cotton, loosened wool, washed silk and perforated jersey. Colour came from deep teal coats and relaxed suits with acid-yellow lanyards, cobalt nylon tracksuits and an orange zip vest, while a white coat and wide pants carried clay stains at the hem. Big piqué polos were layered over technical long-sleeve tees.

Lacoste singles out two accessories. One is a slouchy bag that takes its idea from Irving Penn's 1984 photograph of the polo shirt, with a flap cut on the diagonal like a piqué collar, in white, a clay ombré and mirror silver. The other is the ACE-T1 sneaker, whose cage is meant to recall a stretched net.

There is a commercial point under the concept. WWD says Kolotouros's work has so far won over more than 40 retailers beyond Lacoste's own stores, among them Dover Street Market, Selfridges, Galeries Lafayette, Ssense and Hankyu in Japan, and that if the edge turns into sales, that is how Lacoste wins the long game.