Lacoste: at the Lycée Carnot, post-workout fashion

Trampling fallen leaves in front of the Lycée Carnot, a host of stars returned to the school to attend the Lacoste show on Sunday. In a gym with a market feel, the brand presented its spring-summer 2026 collection, titled “The Locker Room.” Lacoste’s artistic director, Pelagia Kolotouros, incorporated more sportswear into this collection than in the previous two. After having worked for Calvin Klein, Yeezy, Adidas and The North Face, the designer presented her fourth collection for Lacoste this Sunday.

Inside, white tiles covered the floor and half the walls, interspersed with bands of artificial grass or bright green tiles: Lacoste green. Guests sat on curved benches covered with large white and green towels, bathed in soft rays of sunlight filtering through the glass ceiling. As the show began, the ambient sounds increased; the whistle of rain resounded. The collection was developed in the moments after the effort, when sweat-soaked gear was replaced with fresh, clean pieces. Above, the models appeared, emerging from semi-transparent plastic curtains, fogged by condensation.

Captivated, the public discovered silhouettes that ranged from abbreviated to oversized, in predominantly bright tones taken from the Lacoste archives. Starting with orange and its tennis court color variations, the pieces gradually changed to blue, green, then taupe, cream and white. The wardrobe was equally diverse: long coats covered loose suits (trousers or shorts), in turn worn over red leather blouses with generous collars; a poncho hid a glance, revealing only the tied neck straps; Wet-look nylon tracksuits underlined the sporty spirit of the collection.

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Here and there, bucket bags and towels tied around your waist or hanging from your arm revive the gym shower atmosphere. The stretched polos and layering of certain styles created a deliberate mismatch, in the service of comfort. Shorts, for example, were worn under sweatpants. The brand paid tribute to René Lacoste with a print on the back of certain garments. Some blouses bear the date “1927,” the year designer Robert George created the crocodile logo.

With ‘The Locker Room’, Kolotouros put a strong emphasis on accessories. Wrists were wrapped in thick coiled rope bracelets, and feet slipped into sport-inspired lace-up flats with flaps, pumps of all kinds, square or round toe, or mound-shaped in a suede-like material. The Lenglen bag returned to the models’ hands, sometimes half white, half black, stamped with the message “For tennis use only.” Other deeper bags were carried under the arm, while thin racket cases were carried by the handle.

The show ended with a loud chorus of breathing, drumming and squeaking, like the sound of shoes in training. Applauded by a crowd that included Venus Williams, Pierre Niney, Adèle Exarchopoulos, Anna Wintour, Adrien Brody, Taylor Zakhar Perez and South Korean singer Kai, the artistic director broke into a run and ran across the room before joining the models.