Several months after Christophe Lemaire announced he would be leaving Lacoste to take the reins at Hermes (filling the role previously occupied by fellow Frenchman Jean Paul Gaultier), WWD reports today that the French sportswear brand has confirmed its newest hire: Felipe Oliveira Baptista.
The Portuguese-born designer, known for his eponymous womenswear collection which he launched in 2003, will start his new position as the artistic director at Lacoste tomorrow. His first collection for the label will debut over a year from now at next September's Fashion Week in New York (as mind-boggling as it is to think so far ahead, the collection will be Spring/Summer 2012).
Hopefully that'll give Baptista some time to adjust to the new role, and certainly try his hand at menswear—a first for the designer.
