Lacoste Spring-Summer 2027: No White Required

Lacoste returned to Roland-Garros for Spring-Summer 2027, but there was one notable change to the usual tennis dress code: white was not required.

Staged on the Philippe Chatrier court, the collection from Creative Director Pelagia Kolotouros used the clay itself as part of the show. The runway traced an infinity loop across terre battue, with mounds of clay referencing the material used to create the court. It was a fitting setting for a collection concerned with taking the traditional tennis wardrobe apart and putting it back together differently.

The starting point is Lacoste history. René Lacoste famously cut down his sleeves in pursuit of greater freedom and movement, while Suzanne Lenglen challenged tennis convention with her pleated skirts and rejection of the restrictive clothing expected of players. Both understood that sportswear worked better when it allowed the person wearing it to move.

For SS27, that idea extends into menswear. Tailoring is relaxed rather than rigid, with loose suiting and overcoats belted and layered with lanyards and acid-yellow pendants. Oversized piqué polos are worn over technical long-sleeve jerseys, while cobalt nylon tracksuits and an orange zip vest bring the energy of the warm-up to the runway.

Materials are treated with the same lack of reverence. Garment-dyed and enzyme-washed cottons soften traditional preppy structures, tropical wool is deconstructed, and washed silk loses some of its formality. Perforated jersey improves breathability, while technical fabrics are styled with an intentionally relaxed attitude.

The collection also plays with the marks left by the court. A white coat and wide trousers arrive with clay-stained hems, turning what might once have been considered damage into part of the look. Crumpled cottons and graphic T-shirts add further scope for personal styling.

Accessories continue the tennis-to-street proposition. A draped bag takes its cue from Irving Penn's 1984 photograph of the Lacoste polo, while the sculptural ACE-T1 sneaker references the stretched form of a tennis net across three interpretations: sneaker, tennis-ball wedge and lace-up pump.

The result is Lacoste at its most interesting when it stops treating tennis as a uniform and treats it instead as a framework for menswear. The white polo remains. The rules around it have changed.