Answer extracted from the Beyond Luxury podcast — listen to the full episode below.
How Lacoste Uncovered Hidden Subcultures in Global Markets for Its 90th Anniversary
Lacoste discovered deeply obsessive fan communities across São Paulo, China, and Japan that the brand had never actively recognized or activated—from Lacosteiros getting crocodile tattoos and dancing in vintage Lacoste at funk raves, to wealthy Chinese women wearing the brand exclusively while playing tennis, to Japanese collectors seeking only vintage made-in-France pieces. These weren't casual consumers; they were subcultures shaped by genuine emotional links to the brand.
Three Global Subcultures, One Hidden Obsession
In São Paulo, a tribe called the Lacosteiros embodied a hyper-exclusive brand devotion that bordered on cult status. These communities wore Lacoste and Oakley exclusively—no other brands—got crocodile tattoos, styled their hair in distinctive ways, and gathered at bailiff funk raves where they danced with vintage Lacoste pieces and referenced the brand in their songs. They were not aspirational consumers; they were identity-builders for whom the brand functioned as cultural currency.
In China, the discovery was equally striking: wealthy women played tennis every morning in Lacoste polos and miniskirts paired with luxury accessories, creating a lifestyle so consistent it became a daily ritual. One influencer became so associated with the brand that she was nicknamed "René" after founder René Lacoste—a spontaneous, organic tribute that the brand itself had never orchestrated.
In Japan, collectors took a different approach: they pursued only vintage, made-in-France Lacoste pieces, treating the brand's heritage as sacred and dismissing contemporary production. This wasn't about wearing Lacoste today; it was about honoring the archive.
The Insight Brand Leadership Had Missed
What made this discovery significant is that Lacoste had not recognized these communities existed, let alone activated them. As Pascal Monfort explains in the Beyond Luxury episode, "brands that endure are the ones that see what others miss. It's all in the evolving human system." For Lacoste's 90th birthday campaign, the brand's idea was to celebrate itself through the eyes of its fans around the world—and this research revealed that those fans were far more fascinating, far more committed, and far more culturally rooted than any traditional market segmentation would have shown.
"Brands that endure are the ones that see what others miss. It's all in the evolving human system."
Pascal Monfort — Chief Creative Officer of Le Coq Sportif and Founder of REC Trends Marketing. During his decade at Nike as Consumer Culture and Innovation Director, Monfort developed methodologies for reading subcultures and early adopter communities. Since founding REC, a strategic foresight agency, he has advised global luxury brands including Chanel, Dior, Louis Vuitton, Issey Miyake, Adidas, and Lacoste, translating cultural observation into brand strategy.
The deeper methodological point is evident when you examine how this research was conducted: Monfort's REC methodology typically recruits 10 to 24 carefully selected consumers per project, not mass survey samples. This focus on depth over breadth reveals the human obsessions that algorithms and trend reports miss—and in Lacoste's case, it revealed communities so embedded in the brand that they had become invisible to conventional marketing.
To understand the full research methodology behind identifying these subcultures and how brands can systematically find their earliest and most committed communities before mainstream adoption, listen to the full episode on Listenly, where Monfort walks through the exact REC framework used to uncover these hidden cultural movements.
See also
How can luxury brands distinguish between creating culture versus merely achieving cultural visibility?
The distinction depends on the brand's foundation and leadership. Brands with deep cultural links—such as Prada, which is rooted in literature through foundational connections—create culture authentically rather than chase visibility.
What methodology does a cultural strategist use to identify early adopter communities and emerging subcultures for luxury brands?
Pascal Monfort uses a three-step REC methodology: Research (deep desk research on markets, benchmarks, and behaviors), Expert consultation (recruiting industry insiders), and Consumer observation (studying how carefully selected consumers live with and around brands).
What is Anya Freeman's broader vision for Kind Designs and Miami's role in global coastal resilience?
Freeman states her ambition is to build the first female unicorn company in Miami and to make South Florida a global model for coastal construction and climate adaptation.
Key takeaways
- The Lacosteiros in São Paulo created an exclusive subculture where Lacoste and Oakley were the only acceptable brands, complete with crocodile tattoos and dedicated funk raves.
- Wealthy Chinese women built a daily tennis ritual around Lacoste polos, with influencers becoming so identified with the brand they earned nicknames after its founder.
- Japanese collectors pursued only vintage, made-in-France pieces, treating the brand's heritage as sacred and rejecting modern production.
- Lacoste had never recognized or activated these communities until the 90th anniversary campaign revealed them through systematic cultural research.