When you talk about tennis, names like Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras, and Jimmy Connors instantly come to mind. But take the game back to its earlier years, and you have Rene Lacoste, who not only was a terrific player who dominated during his era but also gave us his iconic Lacoste crocodile logo that has lasted for generations!
Patricia Hizon; Judith Staples, marketing manager, Lacoste Watches; and Cathy Porlaje, brand manager, Lacoste Watches
Nicknamed the Crocodile for his tenacity on the court, he designed the classic cotton polo short in 1927 and created a uniform that would allow for better sweat absorption and freedom of movement. He named it L.12.12 — L for Lacoste, 1 for its one-of-a-kind fabric, 2 for its short sleeves, and 12 for the number of the final version of the design he selected for production.
Lacoste’s sport-luxe spirit is reignited in the L.12.12 watch collection, launched last month by country distributor Lucerne and global licensee Movado Group, Inc. Hosted by your columnist with Patricia Bermudez-Hizon, the event gathered various media members from sports and lifestyle.
The six confident colors of the Lacoste.12.12 watch design palette — gray, red, blue, white, green, and black
The “red carpet” for the event was green — with a tennis court with balls and racquets as the backdrop for a photo wall. On the other corner of the Makati Shangri-La’s Isabella ballroom was a wide screen showing snapshots of Lacoste throughout its 77 years.
The collection was unveiled by Emerson Yao of LTimestudio and Julian Addison, MGI president for Asia Pacific.
“Much like the classic polo shirt it is named after, the L.12.12 watch embodies Lacoste’s rich history of designing crisp, elegant pieces, and we are really excited to bring its 2014 holiday collection to Manila. Filipinos seem to have a tasteful yet practical sense of aesthetics — values that are manifest in these timepieces,” said Addison.
The six confident colors of the Lacoste.12.12 watch design palette — gray, red, blue, white, green, and black — surrounded the ballroom that looked like Wimbledon.
A nice twist was when attendees were given the chance to showcase the Lacoste in them through a tennis tournament on the Nintendo Wii. Guests were signed into four brackets, each team comprising a doubles pair that faced one another. When the smoke cleared, the tandem of style blogger Shai Lagarde and running blogger Franc Ramon emerged victorious. All the participants got special loot bags from Lacoste and LTimestudio.
But the biggest surprise was still to come as all the guests went home with their very own Lacoste.12.12 timepiece!
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