5 minute read
Playing with panache
A passion for the game of kings and a respect for its traditions prompted Clementina Monterubello to create a company that designs elegant activewear for equestrians
It was during a seven-month stay in Argentina that I first encountered polo – and I’ve never looked back. The passion of my first teacher and his grooms in Pilar, the players’ mecca just outside Buenos Aires, made me fall head over heels in love with the game. I’d started riding at a young age – the basis for my confidence in the saddle – so my focus was on learning how to stick-and-ball, to push myself to attain greater speed and power, and to become strategic at one of the smartest sports I know.
I’m at my happiest when on a horse, so I practised polo at every opportunity. This enthusiasm, and the curiosity that led me to explore Argentina and its deep polo roots, quickly opened my eyes to a wonderful new world. Having come from a more polished, rule-focused equestrian background, I was enchanted by how naturally the relationship between people and horses develops there. Horses play a tame, familiar part in daily
routines, yet their natural wildness is also embraced, especially during the winter break, when they run free across the pastures.
On my return to Washington DC, I started playing at the Virginia Polo Club with my then coach, Alejandro Perez, but I only reached a consistent standard once I moved to Cape Town and joined the spectacular Val de Vie Polo Club. Rarely have I missed an occasion to take part since then, visiting Chantilly Polo Club in France, La Mimosa and Milano Polo Club in Italy, the UK’s Berkshire Polo Club and Mexico’s Costa Careyes Club. As polo embedded itself more deeply in my life, and after a few dreamer conversations with friends, the idea was born of launching a brand, RBR Polo, that would be focused on the sport I love.
Polo remains a niche interest, and while it isn’t as exclusive as it once was, and rightfully so, it seemed to me that a sport so dependent on the grace of horses ought to be elevated by a sense of style and sophistication. Driven by my admiration for Porfirio Rubirosa, a player
Previous pages RBR’s Charlie wool polo shirt and Timothée trousers combine practicality and panache Opposite, from top Clementina Monterubello, with the RBR polo team – from left, Sebastian Angulo, Manuel Maximino, Mani Bono and Edouard Guerrand-Hermès – after winning the Pro Alvear tournament in Ibiza; the Charlie cotton polo shirt and Timothée trousers see action on the fi eld
This page, clockwise from top
RBR’s R socks, Charlie wool polo shirt, Cibao gilet, LGR for RBR sunglasses, and Charlie cotton polo shirt
– and dashing playboy – who was famed from the 1930s until his death in 1965, I began to analyse his impeccable style and attitude in the saddle, which was embodied in the timeless elegance of the looks of the 1950s.
Players today have largely lost sight of the apparel traditions inherent in polo. In my view, the use of technical products is no substitute for panache. The quality of most materials used in activewear is questionable – the trousers have no real shape, and logos and bright colours are so dominant, players look as if they are wearing football kit.
I began to research new fabrics that, while highly technical, are mostly natural, which is more appropriate for a sport that is played in natural surroundings. I design with one eye on tradition and the other on the needs of the contemporary player. I toned down the colours and worked with a burgundy, rust and dusty-blue palette, keeping the lines masculine and clean for a great-looking, comfortable fi t.
We launched our website last year, along with a digital journal that tells our brand story and communicates information about our tournaments. By offering a glimpse behind the scenes in polo, I want to stimulate a hunger for a better understanding of it and an appreciation of its traditions. I plan to develop the latter into a guide to polo on and off the fi eld.
Too often, especially outside Argentina, amateur players are introduced to the sport without having had an equestrian background and, as a result, when they enter the game, they can end up tarnishing its spirit. If a rider focuses only on wanting to play in certain tournaments, on winning, or on posing on a horse, he is a dangerous example to others and will undermine the deep roots of our sport. Knowing how a horse is broken in, how to read and train it, and how to choose the right saddle and garment is what makes a true polo player.
Our bestseller, the Timothée trousers, emulate the ‘puffy’ riding style, but have a more comfortable and elastic fi t. To complete the look, we’ve designed 1950s-inspired polo shirts in cotton and in wool. As surprising as it may seem, thanks to its natural thermoadaptation, wool is becoming a sought-after fabric for sportswear.
The horizontal stripe sported by Porfi rio’s Cibao-La Pampa team is refl ected in the collection, together with a new version of the polo shirt worn by the Argentine team when they won the US Cup in the 1950s.
I’m looking forward to adopting a similar approach in my women’s range, which will be launched in the next couple of years. For now, though, I’m thoroughly enjoying wearing the one item from the men’s line that fi ts me: the socks! Whether worn while riding, skiing or hiking, they have the most amazing cooling effect, owing to the ceramic fi bre that is used in their manufacture.
Building my company on my own was a challenge and a huge learning curve, but ambition is the most exciting fuel for creativity. I’m not looking to conquer the polo world – just hoping to fi nd supporters who share a similar vision to mine and look forward to demonstrating that through the apparel they wear, their expertise on the fi eld and their intention to be the best players and horsemen they can be in all aspects of the sport. I’m enchanted by the traditions of polo. I want its core values to survive and fl ourish in this fast-paced world of ours, in which such principles are in danger of being forgotten.
