There’s more: Idris Balogun of Winnie is adding another stamp to his passport. The Tom Ford alum, who was born in Brooklyn and raised in London and who most recently lived in Vicenza, Italy, where Winnie is based, is moving to Paris, where he’s the new head of menswear at Lacoste. Balogun started in May, and will continue running Winnie, where since 2019 he’s developed a poetic, intelligent design language that brings to mind an American preppy’s journey of sartorial self-discovery through the heartland of European fashion.
At Lacoste, the 31-year-old will work with new design director Pelagia Kolotourus, a Calvin Klein and Adidas veteran who was hired to shape a cohesive vision at the French tennis juggernaut, from the premium fashion collections down to the famous pique polos. The green crocodile has had a runway line for nearly two decades; it was launched by a young Frenchman with a taste for low-key luxury named Christophe Lemaire. But as with any brand best known for one thing (polo shirts and tennis shorts) that also does another thing (runway fashion), Lacoste faces a tricky balancing act. There’s more than enough luxury clothing coming out of Parisian ateliers. Kolotourus and Balogun’s challenge is to create desirable (and expensive) Lacoste products that hold up on the runway but which don’t stray too far from the brand’s sporty identity and lengthy heritage.
In a recent phone call, Balogun told me his backhand needs work. What he does have that Lacoste clearly wants is the considered eye of a seasoned tailor, having cut his teeth on Savile Row before joining Christopher Bailey’s Burberry and then Tom Ford. Suiting sounds like an early focus. “Lacoste has been doing some pretty interesting things in tailoring thus far, and I want to come in and help take it to the next level,” Balogun said. At Winnie, Balogun makes elegant, contemporary menswear that just looks right, guided by a research process that takes him through the work of the jazz poet Ted Joans one season and Bad Brains the next. His thoughtfulness has earned him comparisons to Grace Wales Bonner, another young designer animating menswear with unique cultural references.
Can Balogun replicate Bonner’s success—making sportswear for Adidas—at France’s biggest athletic brand? Though he doesn’t play much, Balogun is well aware that tennis is having a “huge moment” right now, and he’s eager to harness this energy at a place that’s inextricable from the history of tennis attire. (Rene Lacoste invented the pique tennis polo back in 1933.) “I love the idea of giving tennis this edge,” he said, citing the deeply compelling dirtbag tennis style created by Challengers costume designer Jonathan Anderson. “With Challengers, I was like, man, this is the perfect moment to step in. To continue this bad boy tennis kind of thing. I think it’s interesting to play with the punk tennis mix because the sport has been so highbrow for a long time.” Lacoste’s next runway show will be held on October 1 in Paris.
With so many design studios currently vacant—Chanel, Givenchy, Dries Van Noten, and Tom Ford, following Monday morning’s announcement that Ford successor Peter Hawkings is riding off into the sunset—the industry is in a state of minor suspense. For now, at least, Thibo and Balogun are ready to get started.
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