Lacoste in Trancoso: a temporary shop with a local setting

A temporary shop can engage with its setting without pretending to have always belonged there. Lacoste’s 2023 Trancoso pop-up was introduced as a meeting between the brand’s visual language and a Brazilian summer address.

WAYFARER’s December account described handcrafted decoration and furniture, alongside a hand-painted crocodile. The familiar symbol acquired a different surface treatment rather than being removed in favour of a generic beach image.

The proposed programme extended beyond retail. Music sessions, product customisation and activities such as ceramics workshops gave the space several forms of use. Those additions mattered because a seasonal shop has a limited time in which to become more than a place to complete a purchase.

Nor does the presence of regional craft establish an independently assessed benefit to the whole community. The more specific design question is how a travelling brand acknowledges an address. Here, the room’s furniture and the treatment of its emblem supplied points of contact, giving a familiar identity a setting rather than simply a backdrop.