The appointment of Louise Trotter as the Creative Director for Lacoste is revolutionary for the French brand. As the first female Creative Director in Lacoste’s 85-year history, expectations, for the new chapter she’s going to write, are high. Louise Trotter, will replace the Portuguese designer, Felipe Oliveira Baptista as leading the creative direction of the company. Trotter has big shoes to fill, as Oliveira Baptista is coined with establishing the Lacoste Polo in popular culture.
As a Marketing and Design graduate from Newcastle Polytechnic, Louise went on to work at Whistles, as the Buying and Design Director; Gap Inc., as the Vice-President of Womenswear Design; Calvin Klein, as the Head of Womenswear; Tommy Hilfiger and Jigsaw. As an industry with a large majority of female workers, with an in balance the higher up the ladder you go, it’s great to see pioneering women taking their place at the top, and companies such as Lacoste elevating female voices.
Prior to embarking on this new adventure, Trotter spent close to a decade working for the British label, Joseph, before leaving last July. Trotter was responsible for making the label the fashion forward and trend driven house that it is today. Joseph offers their response to current trends whilst being mindful of classic silhouettes.
The Sunderland born Director, Louise Trotter’s idealistic eye for lines and materials combined with her design of technical pieces’ know-how will strengthen future Lacoste collections.
Best known for their crocodile logo, Lacoste is a modern brand with a signature style. The Lacoste brand is a fusion of sportswear and fashion with a bright past. They collaborated with Supreme last year and sold out in an astonishing, 16 minutes. Earlier in the year, Lacoste collaborated with the International Union for Conservation of Nature on a collection aptly named, Endangered Species, which was a roaring success (yes, we went there).
Louise Trotter’s first collection for Lacoste will be unveiled at Fall 2019 Paris Fashion Week, and we’re excited to see the first vision Louise has the brand. The highly anticipated collection is sure to capture Trotter’s fresh and unique approach to fashion design.
Words by Rosie Smith