Staged on the Philippe Chatrier central court at the iconic Roland-Garros Stadium, the Lacoste Spring-Summer 2027 collection turns the clay itself into raw material. Avalanches of clay occupy the arena, a nod to the factory where the clay is made, and the runway traces an infinity loop on terre battue, the most demanding surface in tennis.
Tennis gave fashion its earliest preppy codes: pristine whites, strict etiquette and manicured green lawns. In the Twenties, two champions reshaped the rules from inside: Suzanne Lenglen took the court sans corset, in a calf-length pleated skirt, and played with a freedom that changed the rhythm of the game and the uniform of tennis itself. René Lacoste, for his part, cropped his sleeves in pursuit of lightness, comfort and speed - freeing himself from the stiffness of the sport’s tradition. From that gesture emerged an enduring icon: the polo shirt.
Sometimes rebellion comes quietly, with precision. For Spring-Summer 2027, Lacoste Creative Director Pelagia Kolotouros celebrates a new moment, when tennis ceased to be costume and became an expression of individuality. Dress Code: No White Required.
Kolotouros reads the court as a surface in the process of changing. Lines blur under footwork. Clay settles on hems. Sweat becomes a badge of honor. What once might have been considered imperfection becomes evidence of accomplishment, its traces outlining the codes of the collection.
Garments respond rather than conform: tailoring skims the body rather than constraining it. In the moment of stillness before the serve, every details counts: the weight of the fabric, the painted lines, the inhale and the release.
The designer continues to merge Lacoste’s heritage with technical fabrics: reinterpretations come through material transformation, a change of posture. Preppy standards are freed of stiffness and hierarchy - cottons are garment-dyed and enzyme-washed to soften structure and reveal movement; tropical wools loosen through deconstruction, silks are washed, imperfect and deliberately less ceremonial. Carefully perforated mapping on jersey knits enhance breathability and movement, while performance fabrics are styled rolled for ease.
On the runway, deep teal overcoats and soft-tailored suiting are worn loose and belted, strung with lanyards and acid-yellow pendants. Oversize piqué polos are layered over technical long sleeves jerseys worn with half-pleated skirts. Tracksuits in vibrant cobalt nylon and a vivid orange zip vest project the energy of the warm-up, while a white coat and wide trousers appear clay-stained at the hem, as if the court itself has won. Crumpled cottons and graphic t-shirts complete a personalisable wardrobe.
Two accessories carry the mood from court to street. Echoing t-shirts and lanyards, a 1984 photograph of the iconic polo by Irving Penn informs a soft, draped bag with a diagonal flap that mimics the nonchalance of a cotton piqué collar in shades of white, gradient clay and mirror-finish silver. The sculptural ACE-T1 caged sneaker pays tribute to the net as it stretches, capturing ideas of strength and speed in three expressions: a sneaker, a tennis-ball wedge, and a lace-up pump.
The season’s colour palette, too, is inspired by the post-match terrain, in shades of sunbaked-clay and mineral earth tones accented by the added charge of silver, acid yellow and cobalt blue.
The Lacoste Spring-Summer 2027 collection reflects what the young René Lacoste understood when he first took scissors to sleeves: uniforms matter less than the freedom they allow.
Dress Code: No White Required hews to that spirit: there is no single way to dress - the only rule that matters is individuality.
