There was only one answer to my editor’s question if I wanted to spend six days in Paris for a press event. And that is “Oui.”
Until now, I’m still adjusting to Manila time and catching up with a bit of the backlog I left at home as I just got back from France. I was there to see the launch of “Lacoste x Roland Garros.” The collaboration of the clothing brand with the premier tennis tournament.
We kicked things off with a welcome dinner and a small orientation of what’s to come. Th next day, we found ourselves on the clay courts of Tennis Club Boulogne Billancourt. Here, we tried out the new collections of Lacoste, which are all inspired by Roland Garros. Lacoste is the official clothing partner of Roland-Garros.
The clothing brand presented several collections such as Tennis Remix, a unique collection to celebrate the 2019 Edition of Roland-Garros. This collection mixes pieces from the performance collection with lifestyle pieces from L!ve and Casual collection, for a silhouette inspired by tennis in urban and contemporary style.
There’s also the Performance collection On Court which includes the Novak Djokovic collection. Djokovic will sport two statement outfits in athletic colors: bright orange, and black and white for the tournament.
Add to this the Lacoste Team collection, which is made for the tennis players under contract with the brand.
I was about to consider a change in careers when we got to see how the pros really do it.
Roland-Garros 2019 opened May 25, with the best players of the game led by Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.
On May 26, I got to watch the match between Federer and Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego. This year sees the return of Federer to Roland-Garros, who hasn’t been seen on the clay courts since 2015.
It was something else to watch Federer live. It felt like putting it in words is such a lame effort. And if you’re reading this as a tennis fan, you know how Federer showed that he’s one of the forerunners to win the tournament.
In a match that lasted one hour and 41 minutes, Federer showed grace and grit. It was a 6-2, 6-4, 6-4 victory. A sure way for him to declare that he’s ready for this.
I got to my hotel full of new memories and definitely with a rush from seeing champions play. I also got a glimpse of Rafael Nadal heading to the courts! Starstruck, you can call me that.
Off-court, Lacoste still has something to offer.
There is the Lifestyle collection, for the people who love their athleisure when doing everyday errands via sports chic polo shirts, T-shirts, sweatshirts, dresses, caps, sneakers and leather goods in the new range.
So this may or may not be what’s in my suitcase, now that I’ve set aside my dreams to be the next Roland-Garros champion.
I’m also eyeing a few pieces from the Textile collection. It includes a Lacoste-branded men’s sweatshirt, polo dress, boat-neck top, and feminine short-sleeved sweatshirt while stylized tennis balls pop up on a polo shirt, women’s sweatshirt and men’s T-shirt.
What can I say? After a great experience, I’m itching to go back. Maybe I’ll practice here at home first, so I can be a bit more impressive on the clay courts of France once again.
