LACOSTE TAPS NOVAK DJOKOVIC AS STYLE AMBASSADOR

French sports-inspired brand Lacoste has tapped 30-year-old Serbian professional tennis player Novak Djokovic as its new on and off-court style ambassador. The brand says that “his relaxed elegance and inventiveness are a perfect match for its DNA and its creations.” This news come at the end of a five-year deal between Djokovic and Japanese fast fashion retailer Uniqlo.

To celebrate Djokovic’s signing, Lacoste has created a new tennis line named after the player. The Novak Djokovic collection is a line of performance products that emphasize comfort and style with details like ergonomic stitching to prevent chaffing. It includes categories typical of the brand such as polo shirts and shorts, and will be available for purchase at Lacoste boutiques in the near future.

During the 2017 French Open, Djokovic will debut the new collection as he hits the Parisian clay courts.

As the new face of the brand, Djokovic is at the heart of the print campaign, shot by photographer Jacob Sutton. The visuals combine 1930s black and white with the present-day collections’ colors.

For its new advertising campaign, the brand imagined a changeover between the two champions, René Lacoste and Novak Djokovic. A film, directed by Julien Pujol, bears witness to the brand’s defining moment: the invention of the Lacoste L.12.12 Polo shirt – the day upon which René Lacoste decided to break away from contemporary tennis dress codes by cutting off the sleeves of his shirt in order to allow himself greater freedom of movement.