RUNWAY: Lacoste SS12

Lacoste's Spring/Summer 2012 brought about some change, not just in the fashions but also in the direction of the French company. Christopher Lemaire has left his post as head designer of Lacoste (to head Hermes' womens pret-a-porter) and in his place is Portuguese designer Felipe Oliveria Baptista. This change is significate in one particular way: this is Baptista's first foray into menswear, though the designer says he always wanted to create a mens collection for his eponymous line.

In the end, proportions and fit were skewed a bit longer and wider, respectively. Two glaring observations can be made from the ten mens looks: geometric color blocking is a key look for SS12 for Lacoste and Lacoste's internationally recognized crocodile was largely missing. Though we love clothes that are unadorned with labels and insignia, we expect to see the croc everywhere. Once all is said and done, the clothes were wearable and men will continue to buy the French brand's clothes. As an aside, the mens business accounts for 75% of all sales for Lacoste; so Mr. Baptista, we'd really appreciate a bigger presence on the runway than the minuscule 10 looks for SS12.