The first collaboration between Lacoste and Tyler, The Creator’s clothing brand, Lacoste × GOLF LE FLEUR injects some of the US artist’s iconic style into classic French tennis culture.

Outsider. Polymath. Iconoclast. Bad boy. Just to name a few of Tyler, The Creator’s many qualities. The California-based musician revered for his production and directing skills is also notorious for his off-centre creative statements, that also fittingly describe the unique outfits he puts together.

COLORAMA

In line with the saturated, left field colorimetric blueprint favoured in his videos and performances, Tyler, The Creator cosigned a set of 16 garments for Lacoste × GOLF le FLEUR that feature flat colour blocks reminiscent of 80s courtside hues.

The colours themselves were renamed to express singularities produced by surprising multi-shades or complementary side tints. Don’t say dusty pink, say “litchi”. Beige becomes a mineral “geode”. Forget about off-white; here we are talking “mascarpone”.

OLD SCHOOL SILHOUETTE 2.0

Such nerdy, GIF-inspired hues plastered over garments appropriated from Lacoste’s historical archive boldly display their contrasting elements and develop a sportswear-inflected chic infused with retro references. Straight, unisex cuts applied to deliberately thick cotton produce short-sleeve polo shirts, buttoned tees, sweatshirts, shorts and bucket hats that articulate an innovative, stylish poise. Cut from wool cloth, the classic varsity jacket with extra embroidery takes on a couture slant, while matching jacket and sweatpants combos reinterpret jogging lore with pastel tones.

Somewhere in-between the classy, laid-back tennis lifestyle and street-level subcultures, Lacoste × GOLF le FLEUR redefines conventional notions of elegance and casual style. Buttoned all the way up, white collars stand out against pigmented canvas, which can be hitched up over forearms and ankles to bare a rib trimming, as a nod to a vintage heritage tinged with modern-day casual.

« THE CREATOR »

Subversive and multifaceted by nature, the artist/designer has put his own touch on the entire collection. Even the iconic crocodile was reworked to include an embroidered poppy flower in its jaw, directly referencing the ubiquitous instances of “GOLF le FLEUR” typeset straight onto tracksuit trousers or in the form of bucket hat stripes.

This fresh, sport-oriented collection will drop on 17 July 2019 in Lacoste’s physical and online stores, as well as concept stores around the world.