What was the original name of the company now known as Lacoste?

Lacoste’s original company name was La Société Chemise Lacoste. René Lacoste founded it in 1933 with French knitwear manufacturer André Gillier to commercialize his innovative tennis shirt.

The partnership combined Lacoste’s sporting ideas with Gillier’s manufacturing expertise. Their shirt used a lightweight cotton piqué fabric, short sleeves and a flat collar, making it more comfortable for tennis than the long-sleeved, stiff-collared clothing commonly worn on court at the time.

The company’s name is closely associated with the product itself: “chemise” means “shirt” in French. The crocodile emblem, based on Lacoste’s nickname, was embroidered on the chest and became a defining part of the brand identity.

Sources and translations sometimes shorten the name to “La Chemise Lacoste” or simply “Chemise Lacoste,” which can cause confusion. The fuller historical form used in biographies is La Société Chemise Lacoste. The business later expanded beyond tennis shirts into broader sportswear, fragrances, footwear and accessories.