New York-based designer brand Vowels is teaming up with Le Coq Sportif on a new collaborative collection that features an updated take on the French firm’s Wendon sneaker.
The sneaker, which is at the heart of the capsule, is a refresh of Le Coq Sportif’s signature shoe that was born from the running silhouettes of the 1960s. The Wendon is defined by its slim profile, which Vowels maintained for this release. However, the made-in-Japan menswear label reworked the sneaker in a new elasticated version, bringing a softer look to the timeless shoe.
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Other parts of the collection include a range of apparel in a black, white, and chartreuse palette threaded with a recurring botanical motif.
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Leading the apparel range is a black varsity jacket finished with chartreuse piping and a hand-drawn floral graphic sweeping across the back, alongside a white crewneck sweatshirt with contrast ribbing and the rooster crest. An oversized raglan tee carries the co-branded Vowels x Le Coq Sportif lockup, while a technical long-sleeve top brings the collection’s floral motif across the shoulders. Wide-leg track trousers, matching shorts with tonal chartreuse trim, and a structured cap complete the range.
“For us, sport has never been only about performance, it’s a language, a culture, a way of moving through the world,” Pascal Monfort, creative director of Le Coq Sportif, said in a statement. “Returning to the United States, we wanted a partner who speaks that language fluently. Vowels doesn’t chase the moment, it studies it, and there is no better place to begin this new chapter than from their Library, in the heart of New York.”
To embody the collaboration, both houses turned to former tennis player Yannick Noah to front the collection’s campaign. In 1983, Noah became the first Frenchman in nearly four decades to win Roland-Garros wearing Le Coq Sportif, and he has remained one of the brand’s most loyal ambassadors.
“Le Coq Sportif was with me at the biggest moment of my tennis career, in 1983,” Noah added. “Seeing that history picked up by a young house, in New York, and given a new life, means a lot to me. Sport is deeply linked with music and culture, it’s a way of being free. That’s exactly what this collection is about.”
Both brands are set to celebrate the release of this new collection during New York Fashion Week on Sept. 12 at the Vowels Research Library at 76 Bowery. The Vowels x Le Coq Sportif capsule will also be available online the same day.