Lacoste Celebrates Novak Djokovic With New Capsule by Artist Ysy
Lacoste on Wednesday, August 26 will launch its latest collection with French artist Youssef Sy, better known as Ysy, celebrating Lacoste ambassador Novak Djokovic, who has been with the brand since 2017.
The collection, which will be available at select Lacoste stores, the company’s web site and retail partners, includes polo shirts, hats and sweatshirts bearing Djokovic in Sy’s pop art illustration style. Other motifs seen in the collection are natural elements like mountains and the sea, which are on a tennis ball.
Sy first created the Djokovic character in 2016 after the athlete’s French Open win at Roland-Garros. Lacoste, with Sy and the Etendart association, also revived a tennis court in Clichy, France, with Djokovic-inspired designs by Sy.
“After my meeting with Louise Trotter [the brand’s creative director] and her team, we agreed that we wanted to give the concept a bit more depth by combining it with values dear to Novak and Lacoste,” said Tokyo-based artist Sy. “His tenacity in holding onto his number-one spot, his dedication to work and the way he passes on his abilities via his foundation and shares with his fans are the values I wanted to highlight in my drawing.”
Lacoste is one of many brand endorsements for Djokovic. The athlete added Peugeot to his endorsements earlier this year, and last year he partnered with Montblanc on a limited-edition StarWalker writing instrument. He will compete in the U.S. Open beginning this month after having initially declined participating in the tournament earlier this year due to testing positive for COVID-19. He tested negative to the virus this summer.
In addition, Lacoste recently collaborated with Boston-based retailer Concepts on a capsule collection inspired by Rene Lacoste’s history with Boston.
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