Lacoste is known for its long association with tennis, but many forget that in the mid-1980s, the brand designed several highly prestigious sailing boats, and indeed the iconic Lacoste colours find their origins in the maritime universe. For spring 2015, the house’s artistic director Felipe Oliveira Baptista tapped into this strand of Lacoste’s heritage to present a new vision, one that he describes as stylish, comfortable and performance-driven. Sailing has, of course, always yielded great textile development, thanks to the challenging nature of the sport that commands specially designed garments, like those from quick-dry fabrics, and Mr Oliveira Baptista combined these technical advancements with historic yachtsman’s tailoring. The resultant collection presented a range of silhouettes – close to the skin, like the sportswear leggings worn beneath shorts, as well as voluminous, like knee-length pea coats – that hinted at the transformative nature of a yacht, with its sails moving up and down, from large to small.