Is There Room For Another Polocentric Brand?

First Post has pictures from last weekend's polo tournament in England, the Gold Cup. Clothes for workers at the cup were made by Polistas, a brand started six years ago by a Canadian banker turned polo player named Johnny Lynn.

Lynn recently opened a Polistas store in Burlington Arcade that sells more than just the logo-driven polo shirts and caps the staff at the match were wearing. It sells jeans and blazers and belts -- things to make one look like they're part of what Lynn calls, "the polo lifestyle."

The real polo look isn't nearly as glamorous as what we see on these fancy weekends. During the week it's the look of the happy horsy people that follow the sport from country to country, season to season. And that's the look that Lynn hopes will transform Polistas from a supplier to the trade to a full-fledged brand. "People think it is just tea parties and stomping on divots," says Lynn. "But it oldest extreme sport in history. We represent the ruggedness, the sweat, the blood and the dust and that's what we're trying to get across."

Of course this tactic has its obstacles. One of which is the other polo brand -- Ralph Lauren. "Ralph is ostracized in the polo community," Lynn says because of the fierceness with which he has defended his trademark. He sued the U.S. Polo Association to force them to stop calling their magazine Polo and they sued him when he allegedly tried to force retailers to stop carrying U.S. Polo Association gear. (According to Lynn, he's had clashes with the polo establishment on this side of the Atlantic as well.) Moves by Ralph to bridge this gap by doing things like hiring polo player Nacho Figueras as a model were dismissed by Lynn as "sucking up." Nevertheless, it landed the somewhat average player ("For an Argentine, he's shit," said one player) on the Charlie Rose show. And a comparison chart with Adolpho Cambiaso, the world's best polo player who is no slouch in looks department, either.

But the other main obstacle may be harder to surmount and that's polo's snob factor. Lynn says the polo audience is growing 30 percent a year in the UK -- over 20,000 people here came to the Gold Cup. Some 30,000 will attend the year's biggest tournament, the Cartier International. But for most it is still a sport they don't feel they have a chance of participating in. And that may ultimately stop them from wanting to dress like they do. At least until they -- or their girlfriends -- get a good look at Adolpho.