Felipe Oliveira Baptista is stepping down as creative director from Lacoste.
Felipe Oliveira Baptista
The 43-year-old designer is parting ways with the clothing brand after holding the position since 2010.
Baptista was responsible for organising several successful collaborations including the Lacoste x Supreme drop which sold out in 16 minutes - helping the brand connect to a millennial audience - as well as this year's Endangered Species collection with the International Union for Conservation of Nature which saw the iconic crocodile logo replaced by animals on the brink of extinction, with the number of individual shirts correlating to the number of the species left in the wild.
Announcing his departure, Baptista thanked all the people who helped make his tenure a success.
Posting his announcement to Instagram, he wrote: "THE END OF AN ERA, LACOSTE_FOB, 2010 - 2018, Eight incredible years made possible with the talent & support of everyone at Lacoste, specially the great Design studio. Also, all the amazing pattern cutters, machinists, artists, photographers, stylists, stylists assistants, producers, set designers, sound designers, musicians, film directors, casting directors, hair stylists, makeup artists, models, PR's, creative directors, graphic designers, fashion designers, Brands, advertising agencies, journalists, writers, actors, choreographers, dancers, athletes and most of all my partner in crime and everything else: Sévi [sic]"
Thierry Guibert, CEO of the Lacoste Group, said he was "grateful" for Baptista's contribution to the brand and is excited for what is coming next.
He said in a statement: "We are very grateful to him for contributing to the artistic and commercial development of our brand. A new stage will now open and I am extremely confident in the future successes of our brand, emblematic of French know-how and elegance."
Lacoste's studio will design the next spring/summer 2019 colelction and a new creative direction for the brand will be announced in the coming months.
Lacoste was created by French tennis player René Lacoste in 1933 and it was his on court nickname "The Crocodile" which inspired the logo found on the garments. This year the company celebrates its 85th anniversary.