Lacoste Ladies Open de France champion, Azahara Munoz, in action on 18th hole during the 2013 edition
The roots of LACOSTE grow deep in sporting ground. Indeed, the brand was founded in 1933 by tennis legend René Lacoste, nicknamed the “Crocodile” and one of the famed “Four Musketeers” from France. Very much as tennis, golf is part of Lacoste’s DNA, as René’s wife Simone Thion de la Chaume, and their daughter Catherine Lacoste, were both illustrious champions.
The talented and determined Simone Thion de la Chaume boasts an impressive record in a sport that was yet to achieve popularity with women in the 1920s. She won the 1924 British Girls Amateur and the 1927 British Ladies Amateur. In the 1930s, she claimed four French International Ladies Championship trophies (1930, 35, 38, 39) and three French National Ladies Championship titles (1936, 37, 39). By the end of her career, she tallied an amazing 13 French National titles. At the same time, the great lady helped to establish the Golf de Chantaco, near Saint Jean-de-Luz. On a piece of land bought by her father, she gave birth to a legendary golf club, now the venue of the Lacoste Ladies Open de France.
The daughter of Simone and her husband René Lacoste, Catherine, was also a precociously prominent champion: in 1964, at the age of only 19, she won the inaugural edition of the World Team Amateur Ladies Championships while tying sharing the low individual honours. In 1967 she triumphed in the US Women’s Open, and two years later she clinched both the US Women’s Amateur and the British Ladies Amateur trophies. As the captain of the French senior ladies team, she enjoyed further success, winning the European championships five times in six years between 2002 and 2007.
More than eight decades after its creation, the LACOSTE crocodile can be seen on golf courses all over the globe, its values proudly carried by modern-day champions such as Yani Tseng, Cristie Kerr, and Azahara Muñoz. This year, LACOSTE presents its new line of handbags named “Chantaco” after the family golf club. It’s smooth leather “piqué” texture reminds of a golf ball, its elegant carry handles the lines of a tee. Destined to become a classic of the crocodile brand, the refined and uncluttered Chantaco bag is available in four colours during the 2014 autumn-winter: black, plum, navy blue and pinky grey.
