French clothing company Lacoste has agreed a partnership with the International Olympic Committee that will result in the launch of the first exclusive Olympic Heritage lifestyle apparel collection.
The range will be developed by Lacoste as part of a three-year licensing agreement between the company and the IOC.
The new men’s clothing and accessories line will include limited-edition collections to reflect the graphic legacy of the Olympics. Lacoste will celebrate the 50th anniversaries of the 1968 Grenoble winter Games and Mexico City summer Olympics for the first edition.
The partnership will extend until 2020, with a collection to be developed in each season. From this summer, the range will initially be sold in Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, Spain and the UK.
The Olympic Heritage collection is being developed by the IOC as one of its three global licensing core programmes. It focuses on past Olympics, lifestyle and high-end products with limited editions seeking to connect audiences with the history of the Games through art and design. The IOC said the initiative is designed to appeal to Olympic enthusiasts as opposed to the typical Olympic spectator and fan.
Lacoste chief executive Thierry Guibert said: “Founded by tennis player and entrepreneur René Lacoste, Olympic medallist in 1924, the Lacoste brand carries the values of fair play, elegance and tenacity that are dear to the Olympic Movement. Those common values have inspired us this collection that radiate with a touch of French elegance the iconographic heritage of past Olympic Games.”
Additional collections are being developed by Lacoste and will be launched soon. As part of its Global Licensing Strategy, the IOC is working with worldwide TOP partner, Chinese internet company Alibaba, to develop a global e-commerce platform for Olympic stakeholders to engage and connect with fans seeking official Olympic licensed products manufactured by the Olympic parties’ official licensees, and selected sports products, on a worldwide basis.
When launched, the platform will offer the various products developed as part of the three licensing programmes, including the Olympic Heritage Collection by Lacoste.