Lacoste.

Sat. 02/14/2015.





Lacoste.

Felipe Oliveira Baptista constantly Surprises and Delights with the way he reconfigures the Lacoste wardrobe language from season to season. In just the few scant years he's been at the helm of the label, one can easily identify the Lacoste brand (even sans Crocodile) from across the room. That correlates to Branding Gold for the people who own the label and equals Job Security for Baptista! The coolest thing about this being that, Baptista hasn't slavishly adhered to a Formulaic approach to his conceptualizing of the labels Signatures. Every season, save a certain Tennis/Sporty motif, Baptista almost reinvents himself every collection. That he can imbue each collection with a high Recognizability factor while creating diverse clothes is quite the talent.

Fall 2015 showed Baptista's Versatility at play again. Even though the collection played out to be one of Baptista's Simpler and more Direct affairs, that in no way dimmed or lessened the impact of the highly Graphic and colour saturated clothes. Boldness was the Watchword of the day as Baptista filled his "Winter Tennis" collection with Breathtakingingly Desirable Coats, some with slits under the arm seam as to convert the coats into Capes, counterpointed by Fresh Sporty separates and Brazenly coloured Track suits that would have made Tony Soprano Blush! There was more Graphic insertions such as the Bold wording on pieces, such as "Rene did it First" or "Tennis, Anyone?" or even just on the Yoke on the back of Superbly Excellent Scarlet trimmed Navy and Marine Blue coat at Exit No. 3 that had "Rene" Printed on it!

Baptista proved that he was even confidently up for some Risk-Taking at the end of the show with some Tricky Asymmetric pieces in Stripes that Wonderfully so, didn't come off as Arty or Overworked and looked Downright Chic! However, the Awesome Chic Award goes to the Totally Luxurious and Offbeat Double-take moment of Anna Cleveland in a Plush, Swinging "Huggy Bear" Fur Pimp coat worn over a Sweat suit in Baby Blue! It was Funny as hell and that Three Exits later that same coat was on a Man worn with a Lurid Purple Track suit made it all the more Hilarious and Smashing!

Needless to say, the same lament that I have cried from the first review I wrote to now about this collection... I WANT ALL of the Men's pieces in this collection. I feel, in a way, that Baptista is designing just to Tease me, for he hits that Sweetest of Sweet spots in my Fashion Lust zone with his Menswear offerings and I am left Panting like a Track Dog chasing the Mechanical Rabbit! The Women's clothes live up to that same level of Hateful Seduction! Baptista has got a Thing going on here with Lacoste that doesn't happen all too often... there is a Symbiosis here that is Extraordinary, One that is producing a Product that resonates with Customers and the Fashion Elite Equally. That is something to give much Appreciation for!





That's All.





Bye4Now!