THE SPRING-SUMMER 2026 COLLECTION EMBRACES THE LOCKER ROOM AS A LIMINAL SPACE SUSPENDED BETWEEN THE RUSH OF TRIUMPH AND THE QUIET RECKONING OF DEFEAT – A SANCTUARY WHERE CHAMPIONS AND PASSIONATE AMATEURS ALIKE CONFRONT THEIR MOST UNGUARDED MOMENTS. WITHIN THIS IMMERSIVE ENVIRONMENT, LACOSTE CREATIVE DIRECTOR PELAGIA KOLOTOUROS EXPLORES THE BRAND'S ATHLETIC DNA IN A FRESH LIGHT, TRANSCENDING COMPETITIVE STAKES TO FOCUS ON FOUNDER RENÉ LACOSTE’S FORMATIVE TRAINING YEARS.
Staging its Spring-Summer 2026 show in the landmark Hall Eiffel at Lycée Carnot, Lacoste transforms Hector Degeorge’s soaring 1895 glass-and-iron masterpiece into The Locker Room. Tiled surfaces evoke the “backstage” familiar to tennis stars like René Lacoste and athletes everywhere, while steamed curved glass panels and cascading shower curtains create an atmosphere of voyeurism, dissolving the boundaries between private ritual and public spectacle.
This season unfolds as a sensorial ode to sport, a passion for surpassing limits shared by players and spectators alike. The collection explores the allure of incomplete states of dress — the unbuttoning of a match-worn tennis polo, the loosening of a tracksuit – and the moments that counter the tyranny of perfection. Players shed sweat-soaked garments and step into newfound lightness and elegance.
While Lacoste’s storied sporting legacy serves as a foundation, raw authenticity evolves into refinement and fresh contradictions between transparency and opacity, comfort and fluidity, athletic intention and effortless chic.
Sensuality, unfinished proportions, and athletic heritage remixed with vintage sportswear vibes are the baseline for an elegant yet dynamic wardrobe of sheer polos, statements in mirror leather, robe-like trench coats emblazoned “Tennis for Everyone,” and tech-silk flyaway nylon pieces that create tension with utilitarian rubberized cottons and wet-look nylon.
Shapes and textures favor versatility and athletic energy. Performance fabrics commune with modernized heritage materials and unconventional elements inspired by the locker room environment, like transparent organza evoking shower curtains, lustrous toweling fabrics creating unexpected usages, and reflective leather.
Every piece in this collection mines the creativity of real-world dressing, a key aspect of Lacoste’s enduring success. Having introduced tailoring in her debut collection for the brand, Pelagia Kolotouros pursues the thought for Spring with sensual, loose silhouettes and reimagined polos – now oversized, in transparent nylon and paired with ethereal constructions or fluid wide-leg trousers with vintage sportswear accents. Lacoste’s iconic top also gets a new spin in crisp poplin and terry fabrics with inscriptions like “Tennis for Everyone” and “Only for Tennis.” Tropical wools and sumptuous mohair combine with specially dyed nylons and leather, emphasizing both comfort and the seductive nature of suspended states. The crocodile this season is inspired by grass tennis court translated into embroideries celebrating French savoir-faire while honoring the brand's heritage, giving the signature crocodile a fresh expression. The Lenglen bag also returns this season, featuring distinctive tipping details further inspired by the vintage tennis pleated skirt and handles reminiscent of tennis racket grips.
The spring-summer color palette evokes a nostalgia for vintage sportswear, pairing vibrant orange and resonant archival blue with sophisticated tones of orange, taupe and olive green. That dynamic interplay generates athletic energy while maintaining an elegant equilibrium punctuated by delicate floral embroideries that celebrate the joys and triumphs the founder experienced through in sport a century ago, in the Twenties.
Setting a new standard for sartorial intimacy, the Spring-Summer 2026 collection captures that precise moment when victory meets vulnerability, and heritage embraces the seductive beauty of unfinished elegance.
