When Kolotouros became Creative director at Lacoste, the expectation was that she would honor the brand’s tennis heritage respectfully. For four seasons, she did exactly that, methodically and thoughtfully, with real craftsmanship. The Lacoste Fall 2026 Collection, presented at Roland Garros, marked her transition from steward to author.
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| 🎾 The Lacoste Fall 2026 show took place at Roland Garros, reinforcing the brand’s tennis heritage. 🧥 A nine-piece collaboration with Mackintosh introduced technical rainwear to the collection. 🗽 The designer drew heavily from 1980s Queens streetwear, reflecting her own upbringing. 👕 Oversized polos and refined merino tracksuits blended streetwear with tailoring. 🎨 The palette shifted to deeper tones inspired by rain-soaked tennis courts. 🧠 The collection signals Pelagia Kolotouros moving from heritage guardian to defining voice. |
The setting mattered. Roland Garros is where precision wins. You can have strength and speed, but what separates contenders from champions is the ability to control the angle and redirect the expected. Kolotouros did just that on Sunday. The collection could have relied on the well-documented 1923 rain-soaked match involving the brand’s founder, René Lacoste, and ended there. She chose a harder shot.
The clothes carried a second culture alongside Lacoste’s French tennis roots – the New York City borough of Queens in the 1980s. Tracksuits, oversized polo shirts, and streetwear worn by kids at neighborhood playgrounds after school – this was the designer’s own upbringing. She incorporated it into the collection seamlessly. The two references sat together on the same rack with surprising ease.
The opener, a raincoat born from the union of a track jacket and a tennis skirt, was one of the season’s most talked-about pieces. Made in collaboration with Mackintosh, a Scottish outerwear specialist whose waterproof fabric patent dates back to 1823, the garment had a drop-waist silhouette that felt archival yet current. The nine-piece Mackintosh capsule was one of the stronger elements on the runway, anchoring a show that never lost its focus.
The palette was a deliberate shift from last season’s bright tennis-court tones. Clay ochre, lawn green, and court whites reappeared, but this time they were deeper, as if the colors had been caught in the rain. That restraint was smart. A filmy nylon blouson worn over a straight skirt looked genuinely refined. A double-faced merino wool polo shirt paired with tailored track pants struck a balance between athletic and sartorial.
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Elsewhere, oversized striped piqué polos were scaled up to near-poncho proportions. The tracksuits, reimagined in merino wool jersey, felt warmer and more refined than their synthetic originals. A blazer layered over a nylon zip-up hoodie and wide-leg tailored trousers captured the tension Kolotouros is navigating: sportswear credibility versus wardrobe longevity.
The accessories underscored what the clothes were already saying. Transparent nylon pleated bags, crocodile-headed umbrellas, and a wide-brimmed rain hat that quickly became one of the season’s most photographed items all pointed toward a Lacoste that wants to own the space between the court and the street. Rubber boots with thick soles and retro graphics referencing Grand Slam tournament bibs completed the picture.
For a brand whose fashion output has historically been solid yet inconsistent, this was a decisive step. Kolotouros has shown that she can honor a founder, incorporate personal biography, and design clothes that feel relevant to the present moment. That is not a small thing. The Fall 2026 collection suggests that she is just getting started.
