It’s not extremely often that Lacoste makes it onto our radar, but neither is it unheard of. Despite largely purveying their products in a lane outside of our purview, the Parisian company has a habit of stopping into our neck of the woods every so often, chalking off collaborations with retailers like Hanon, Concepts, and BAIT in the past decade. Their latest pairs them up with another overseas outfit, joining hands with END Clothing for a retro edition of the Lacoste Umpire.
Given the brand’s heralded origins in tennis, it’s only right that this link-up takes over one of their archival performance models. Retrofitted with subtle off-white suede, END tabs the model at an opportune moment, as other low-key, simplistic silhouettes elsewhere in the industry have become trendy options. Despite the reigned-in palette, the shoe still bears the same storytelling significance seen elsewhere in the collection, attempting to join together the British seaside, 90’s racing games like Need For Speed, and coastal amusements. You may not sport a joystick anywhere on this shoe, but deep blue hits on the heel cap and co-branded END / Lacoste logo gesture at those narrative notes, closing with green-and-blue packaging.
The END Lacoste collection, including the Umpire sneaker and a range of apparel options, releases on April 28th. The Umpire retails at $159. Catch a range of campaign images ahead while we wait for the drop.
