Lacoste's Olympic Spirit

With eyes on Texas, Lacoste gets the Olympic spirit in sporty new street-smart collection

NEW YORK — Venerable fashion houses often look to new designers to shake things up and garner some buzz for a faded name. Just this season, Brooks Brothers snared Zac Posen to design its women's line, Banana Republic tapped edgy designer Timo Weiland to create a capsule collection and DKNY picked the hot Public School duo of Dao-Yi Chow and Maxwell Osborne to breathe new life into the brand.

But no one has done a better job of creating excitement at a once-stodgy label than Lacoste's Felipe Oliveira Baptista.

Since taking over as creative director in 2010 after Christophe Lemaire decamped for Hermès, Baptista has reinvented Lacoste as a hip lifestyle label while remaining true to its sportswear roots. The spring 2016 collection, unveiled at New York Fashion Week amid a runway canopy of white nylon straps and silver buckles, has a sporty theme with a crisp urban style.

Baptista has clearly got the Olympic spirit since Lacoste is outfitting the French delegation at next summer's games in Rio de Janeiro a few months after this collection hits stores. He sent out male and female models in sporty track pants and jackets in a jumble of national banners, with elements of the South African, French, U.S., Japanese and Russian flags. Oversized ponchos, coats and bomber jackets in abstract prints and camouflage patterns also emulate the idea of flag-draped athletes.

For a more urban attitude, Baptista features a flowing green satin gown that looks like it wandered over from the Ralph Lauren Collection, sexy body-hugging dresses with cutouts at the waist and a form-fitting jump suit with a plunging deep V-neckline that has to be one of the sexiest looks on the fashion week runway. Other eyecatchers include suits made from silver metallic or bright red fabric, safari dresses of parachute nylon and a windbreaker that can be worn as a cape with shoulder straps.

The collection is sprinkled with a few polo shirts in colorful broken flag patterns and the legendary crocodile insignia appears here and there. But Baptista proves that Lacoste no longer has to rely on the old standards for success.

Lacoste has got Texas in its sights, with a new store set to open Saturday in Dallas' NorthPark Center. It currently operates a boutique in Houston at The Galleria.

Lacoste flag-inspired pants and jacket.

Photo courtesy of Lacoste

Lacoste flag-inspired pants and jacket.

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A Clear Choice

Texas handbag brand Consuela debuts clear collection for stadium use

Photo courtesy of Consuela

These bags fashionably comply with stadium rules.

Transparency is key for this new stadium-friendly product line by Austin handbag brand Consuela. The new line recreates the brand's top-selling silhouettes in a clear material that makes them easy to carry at venues with long security lines.

This is the first time Consuela has produced clear bags, press materials say.

It's certainly possible to pack any small bag and spend a minute on a security check at the gate, but if attendees want to carry more, sometimes venues require a clear bag; at Reliant Stadium, for example, a non-see-through bag can only be four-and-a-half inches by six-and-a-half inches or smaller.

Conseula clear bags You don't have to put bags in the "tool bag" silhouette.Photo courtesy of Consuela

Each clear Consuela bag has a bit of personality thanks to a printed, opaque strip of material across the top and a colorful strap that's interchangeable for different carrying styles: wearing the bag crossbody, on the shoulder, or as a clutch. Leather accents also elevate each piece, which contains interior pockets, a credit card holder, and a removable piece that gives the base structure or, when it's removed, allows the bag to collapse.

With three shapes and three patterns or colorways, there are nine distinct bags in the collection. The largest style is 11 inches by nine and a quarter inches, with a three-inch depth. Two smaller styles are more clutch-sized. The top material can show off a colorful paisley-like design, leopard print, or an understated cream leather to match the rest of the trim.

Conseula clear bags Grouping items in smaller cases can make a clear bag look neater.Photo courtesy of Consuela

The new collection ($125-235) is available now at consuelastyle.com. Shoppers can also check the bags out in person at Consuela's Katy store at 23501 Cinco Ranch Boulevard. Other retailers selling Consuela bags can be found through the brand's store locator.

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