Cementing his legacy and emphasizing Lacoste’s fundamental aesthetics, Christophe Lemaire launched his final collection for the crocodile brand on Saturday morning. The S/S11 show featured all the details and pieces that we have come to expect from a Lacoste collection. It was sporty yet elegant, chic yet casual. Starting out in a monochrome fashion, the show was soon submerged in orange, pink, red and tan/brown shades. But white was perhaps the predominant colour, really hammering home the summer message.

The silhouette was slightly 80s inspired with loose and comfortable cuts; pleated trousers, some with ribbed ankles, were a strong feature. Sport jackets came sleeveless and accessories – like Panama hats, rope belts and tan leather caps – impressed. Strong art and architecture influences shone through, mixed with modern mesh fabrics. In a way that summed up the collection, and also Lemaire’s ten years with Lacoste; a brand that fuses technologically advanced sportswear with decidedly stylishly cuts and shapes. New Creative Director Felipe Oliveira Baptista has big shoes to fill, but no doubt he will prosper and get along swell with the croc.

Dazed Digital: What influenced this show?

Christophe Lemaire: I wanted it to be clean, pure and abstract: a synthesis of my decade at Lacoste.

DD: How would you define the brand?

Christophe Lemaire: It holds a unique position between fashion and sport and I try to express that in a clean way with chic but easy collections. They have to be fresh and positive!

DD: It was very art inspired – what in particular have you been looking at?

Christophe Lemaire: Bauhus, Mondrian and the Villa Noailles designed by Robert Mallet-Stevens.

DD: There was elements of 80s fashion in there…

Christophe Lemaire: Yes, contemporary influences mixed with the 1980s. You have to be precise with fabric, volume and proportions when doing this.

DD: Did I see a beige fake suede fabric in the show?

Christophe Lemaire: Yes, it was originally created as a fabric for car seats that was washable!

DD: Favourite piece from the collection?

Christophe Lemaire: The collarless jacket with white trousers and pleats.