What Is the Lacoste Logo?
The Lacoste logo is a green crocodile with a red tongue, usually shown with the name LACOSTE, and it comes from the nickname of French tennis champion René Lacoste. He founded the clothing company with knitwear manufacturer André Gillier in France in 1933, the year they began making his piqué cotton polo shirt with the crocodile on the chest.
Lacoste also uses the crocodile on its own, and René Lacoste's handwritten signature appears in some places, such as the Café Lacoste logotype. The crocodile with the name is available as the Lacoste logo SVG.
Lacoste Logo Facts
| Designer | Robert George |
| Introduced | 1933, on the Lacoste polo shirt |
| Symbol | A green crocodile with a red tongue |
| Logo type | Combination mark: crocodile and the LACOSTE name |
| Earlier mark | A crocodile sewn onto René Lacoste's white court jackets |
| Owner | Maus Frères SA |
What the Lacoste Logo Means
The crocodile is René Lacoste himself. In Boston in 1923, his team captain promised to buy him a crocodile-leather suitcase he had admired in a shop window if he won his next match. Lacoste lost, but the American press, struck by both the bet and his tenacity on court, christened him "the crocodile", and the tennis world took up the name.
Lacoste liked the nickname. He asked his friend Robert George, a stylist and illustrator, to put a crocodile on the white jackets he wore when he walked onto court. When his company began making shirts in 1933, that animal moved onto the chest, and Lacoste says it became the first brand to put a logo on its clothing.
Lacoste Logo History
René Lacoste was the world's best player in 1926 and 1927 and won seven Grand Slam titles. Robert George drew the first crocodile during those playing years, and it stayed with the player when he turned to business in 1933. The polo shirt that carried it was light, flexible and made of "petit piqué" cotton, a break from the regular shirts tennis players were expected to wear.
During the 1950s Lacoste clothing began to be exported around the world, and a children's line followed. Swiss family firm Maus Frères SA, founded in Geneva in 1902, acquired Lacoste in 2012, and the brand celebrated 90 years of the crocodile in 2023.
On 21 April 2026 Lacoste unveiled a new visual identity developed with Commission Studio. A bespoke serif wordmark, drawn from the brand's archives, replaced the earlier lettering. The crocodile was given a more prominent role, especially when used on its own, and its red tongue, part of the original drawing, became more visible. The brand green was adjusted to match its original shade, and the palette added clay, for the clay courts, and farine, the off-white of René Lacoste's first blazer.
For more brands like Lacoste, browse our fashion logos.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is the Lacoste logo a crocodile?
The American press nicknamed René Lacoste "the crocodile" in 1923, after a bet over a crocodile-leather suitcase and because of his tenacity on court.
Who drew the Lacoste crocodile?
Robert George, a friend of René Lacoste, drew the first crocodile, which was first sewn onto Lacoste's tennis jackets.
When did the crocodile first appear on Lacoste shirts?
In 1933, when René Lacoste and André Gillier founded the company and began making his polo shirt.
Did Lacoste change its logo in 2026?
Yes. In April 2026 Lacoste introduced a new serif wordmark and gave the crocodile and its red tongue a bigger role.