Shorting Polyester

Born in 1904 at 28 Rue Albouy, in the 10th arrondissement of Paris, René Lacoste was the son of Jean-Jules and Marie-Madeliene. His father was an inventor and a successful entrepreneur, notably the founder of the car manufacturer J. Lacoste & Co., and ironically, bearing in mind that he sported a classic French handlebar moustache, he handled the affairs of the larger Spanish operation, the Hispano-Suiza auto company. However, it was Lacoste’s mother who was responsible for him picking up a tennis racket, first competing at the modest courts of Courbevoie as a not so youthful juvenile at the age of 15.

As adolescence gives way to early adulthood, it’s a time of life to make important choices about your future. Lacoste’s father advised him to study engineering, but he chose tennis instead, which not only catapulted him to an unprecedented elite podium of sporting achievements but also served as an external manifestation of his multifaceted efforts transcending sport, fashion and, uniquely, France.

Starting with his own country – the beginning of the Roaring Twenties saw a group of French men tennis players known as the “Four Musketeers” due to their adroit style on the court. This nickname was inspired by Alexandre Dumas’ 1844 novel, The Three Musketeers, which was adapted into a film starring Douglas Fairbanks in 1921. At this time, René Lacoste, known as “the Crocodile”, Jean Borotra, Jacques ‘Toto’ Brugnon and Henri Cochet were just beginning to propel France to the top of the tennis table. Together, they quashed American dominance, and between them from 1924–1933 they won 18 out of 27 Grand Slams. And with a kinship with Lacoste for trailblazing dress ideas, one cannot forget Suzanne Lenglen, who remarkably won six Wimbledon Grand Slam titles between 1919 and 1925.

It is true that within her Lenglen had an avant-garde streak, which was demonstrated by sipping cognac during water breaks and even donning a full-length mink coat on court. But Lacoste meticulously analysed the tennis environment; he would hide in the corner of the dressing room and make careful notes. At that time, the majority of men competed in starched long-sleeved shirts that, when tucked into white pleated trousers with turn-ups, exuded a sense of sporting sophistication. However, the restrictive nature of this attire resulted in matches being played under extreme duress, particularly during five sets in sweltering and humid conditions.

In the mid-1920s, George Cholmondeley, 5th Marquess of Cholmondeley, and his wife Sybil, Marchioness Cholmondeley, occasionally competed in European tennis competitions. George did in fact once make the draw for Wimbledon and he struck a friendship with Lacoste, who was victorious in the 1925 edition. Lacoste was acutely observant, and in a 1979 interview with People Magazine, he elaborated on this subject:

“One day I noticed my friend the Marquess of Cholmondeley wearing his polo shirt on the court. A practical idea, I thought to myself.  It was so practical, in fact, that I commissioned an English tailor to whip up a few shirts in both cotton and wool. Soon everyone was wearing them,” he smiles.

To be more precise, one of the designs was a lightweight, breathable cotton known as ‘jersey petit pique.’ Lacoste himself first wore one in 1926 at the US Open, which he won, and it caused a sensation. It allowed for enhanced freedom of movement, a property he claimed was instrumental in improving performances. The design itself was still extremely smart. It had a soft ribbed collar to prevent chaffing, but it was stiff enough that it could be worn turned up to protect the back of the neck.

“To me, the polo player has elegance and imagination. It embodies a sophisticated luxury and a timeless style,” said the visionary designer Ralph Lauren. Arguably the oldest team sport, its origins trace back to Persia, where Kings, Princes and Queens played it. Around 1858, at the Cachar Polo Club, at Silchar in Assam, British military officers played polo with locals, and when they returned to the UK they added collars to their polo shirts. In the 1890s the American John E. Brooks boarded a steamship to the UK. Inspired by these forward-thinking adjustments, upon his return to the US Brooks manufactured shirts with button-down collars, an invention and Brooks Brothers enduring staple.

Not a new addition to the AK MC enviable collection, but following the long-sleeved polo shirts handcrafted in Puglia and in luxury fabrics, the superfine cotton pique short-sleeved versions, which also feature mother-of-pearl buttons, exude a casual allure when docked in Porto Ercole, Italy, for a night’s stay at the romantic and timeless Hotel Il Pellicano. In the height of summer at the quintessentially old-fashioned havens of the Mediterranean, a short-sleeved polo shirt cut in a loose, relaxed guise doesn’t always sculpt the body effectively for that irresistible appearance. However, when one considers the typical tailored AK MC polo shirt feel and look, it only further allows the accompaniments to flourish, such as finely crafted AK MC Bermuda shorts, and again for those more glamorous resorts, a degree of refinement does not go amiss.

It’s exactly the attitude that the Duke of Windsor had when constructing an aesthetic, and there can’t be many nobles or aristocrats who expertly portrayed it in such a host of sophisticated hideaways around the globe. And when partnering the fitted short-sleeved polo shirt with cotton high-waisted pleated trousers and a pair of handmade Belgian loafers, it delineates the authentic version of informal elegance. A world away from those ill-constructed polyester polo shirts, the assortment offered in either navy or white from AK MC is a testament to the pioneering polo shirt footprint that Lacoste left, but encompassing those revered modern and tasteful AK MC touches; the high-level creative adjustments to a simple garment are still very much being showcased.