Lacoste gets a little meta with its FW/22 campaign, as we see tennis superstar Venus Williams in a dance off with Saniyya Sidney (who played the young Venus in the Oscar-winning King Richard) while both wearing the same white Lacoste jacket. It’s a lot.
Based around the idea of unexpected encounters – something the brand has been focussed on since dropping its SS/22 collection – the jacket, long forgotten in some corner store, is picked up by Sidney, who then happens across its rightful owner, Williams. The connection ignites a dance battle – a natural reaction that we’re happy to go along with, especially to a soundtrack of “Apache” by The Sugarhill Gang.
Of course Williams is no stranger to the dance-off. Every year she and sister Serena host the Williams Invitational, something that started out as a day of tennis and other sports with friends that, in 2013, added a dance element. It now involves big numbers, light shows, costume changes and stiff competition. So yeah, Venus got form.
While the shoot is captured by the Irish portrait photographer Ronan Gallagher, mixing documentary style with a street fashion aesthetic, the film itself was directed by the young duo, Kenten. The whole thing really feels like a fresh departure for the brand, focussing on a mood that’s fun, likeable and – crucially – shareable. It’s a move likely to bring the crocodile to a whole new consumer base.
As for the dance battle well, we’re going to go, controversially, with Sidney for the win on this one. Pretty bad form, we know, but if it’s any consolation to Venus we had to watch it a whole bunch of times first. And even then the margin of victory was slim. Alas, for a sportsperson, a loss is a loss. After her surprise first-round exit in this week’s US Open, that only leaves the doubles with sister Serena for Williams to prosper. Regardless of how that goes, we know she’ll be looking on-point.
