Every company has a thought process beyond their name and logo and Lacoste is no different. After Rene Lacoste was reviewed as fighting like a crocodile in a tennis match in an attempt to win a crocodile skin briefcase in a bet, the nickname stuck, and for over 75 years the crocodile has been the eblem of the company.

For the next three months Lacoste are releasing line of limited edition shoes that are all are inspired by the reptile that is so associated with them taking the history and really delving into countries’ beliefs, stories and characteristics they connect to crocodile.

Some of the shoes aim to be a crocodile for your foot, such as the Tiller Egypt and Missouri Albino. The Nile Crocodile is one of the fiercest in the world, averaging 6 metres in length and has a choice of any animal that drinks along the banks of the Nile including hippos for its dinner. The underbelly colour of the Nile Crocodile is the main component of the Tiller Egypt, with a canvas upper perfect for hot weather such like found in Egypt and pyramids etched on by lasers which are constructed from a crocodile pattern.

Lake Venda in South Africa has a myth featuring the prescense of an albino crocodile in its waters and was viewed as sacred and virginal.Today still, young Venda maidens dance at the lake in honour of the God of fertility sans albino crocodiles, as they are very rare in the wild due to their lack of pigment making it difficult for them to survive under the African sun. In honour of this rare crocodile, the Missouri has an upper constructed of different materials all in white, whilst the bright colours featured in and around the shoe top are taken from the traditional clothing of the Venda tribe.

With so much thought and attention to detail being put into these shoes, they do deserve the title of special limited edition. It’s nice to see a company taking the brand’s logo and threading that into the actual output of the footwear increasing brand identity and weaving not just a history of the company but the design of the shoes which in this case is clearly a creative process worth hearing about.

Words: Alexandra Rochester