Lacoste Logo History

Lacoste is a French apparel company founded in 1933 that sells clothing, footwear, perfume, leather goods, watches, eyewear, and most famously, tennis shirts. The Lacoste company was founded in 1933 and takes its name from Rene Lacoste, the world-renowned tennis player and sports enthusiast. Rene Lacoste did not like the traditional shirts used for tennis and teamed up with Andre Gillier, the owner of France's largest knitwear company, to create the knitted cotton pique shirt that revolutionized the sportswear market.

The American press nicknamed Rene Lacoste the "Crocodile" after he made a bet with the Captain of the French Davis Cup team. He had promised Rene a crocodile skin suitcase if he won a match that was important to the team. The American public stuck with this nickname that highlighted Rene's tenacity on the tennis court. A friend of Rene's, Robert George, drew a crocodile that was embroidered on the blazer that he wore on the court from then on.