Exclusive: Balenciaga quietly signed Arthur Fils—but he’s already dressed by Lacoste
A Balenciaga campaign launch is coming soon, and Lacoste may be involved.
Late last year, Balenciaga quietly signed the rising French tennis star Arthur Fils as an ambassador, his team has now confirmed to Hard Court. At the time, no press release went out and neither Fils nor Balenciaga announced it publicly, though Fils began teasing the collaboration with breadcrumb imagery on Instagram, like photos of him wearing Balenciaga and a photo of Balenciaga bags stacked atop his hotel bed. He also showed up to Balenciaga’s S/S ‘26 show at Paris Fashion Week last fall while recovering from injury.
Luxury fashion brands are scooping up tennis players left and right, so the news itself isn’t surprising. And as one of the few men on the ATP Tour with an innate sense of style and swagger, Fils pairing with an edgier (these days) brand like Balenciaga tracks.
What’s more unusual is the overlap.
Unlike other players who partner with luxury houses—Jannik Sinner with Gucci, Carlos Alcaraz with Louis Vuitton—Fils’ kit sponsor, Lacoste, is also a premium brand with runway shows and a growing ready-to-wear business. Just a few weeks ago in Miami, Fils took part in a Lacoste shoot alongside fellow brand face Grigor Dimitrov, wearing pieces from the brand’s contemporary line rather than its on-court kits.
All of which raises a more complicated question: how does a player promote two fashion houses at once in a way that feels intentional, not conflicted—particularly when those brands couldn’t be more different on the aesthetic spectrum?
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