Equestrian Fashions on the Catwalk

Equestrian fashions hitting the catwalk with gusto this year.  The lucrative celebrity endorsement industry appears to have discovered horse riding with the likes of  Zara Phillips launching her collection with Musto and Katie Price aka Jordan launching the fourth collection of the KP Equestrian range.  It seems obvious that the industry has finally began to pay attention to Equestrian clothes.  Horse riding is seen as a hobby for the affluent who will also want fashionable clothes and have the money to pay for them. 

Photo: Musto.com

Whilst twenty nine year old Zara Phillips is granddaughter of the Queen and daughter to the Princess Royal, she is clearly not just a pretty face and has impressive riding credentials.  She hopes to compete in the 2012 Olympics in London after missing out on the last two games because her horse Toytown was suffering from injuries. In keeping with this, she is endorsing a collection by Musto, a leading supplier of  sailing and country sports wear, famed for developing high-performance fabrics that can withstand extreme weather conditions. 


On the website Nigel Musto commented on the collaboration with Zara: “Zara Phillips has been a strong supporter of Musto and has worn the brand for many years. Her own equestrian range for Musto really takes the relationship to the next level. Zara has been heavily involved with the product designs right from the start of the project, rigorously testing each garment and ensuring she is happy with the style and fit. She is a dedicated and extremely successful horsewoman and is a natural fit with the brand. We feel her new collection will significantly enhance Musto’s already successful offering in sports apparel.”. 


The collection has  a classic red and black colour scheme and includes a range of pieces from a long sleeved tech t-shirt priced at £35 to a fleeced lined riding jacket costing £200, .

Zara was keen to stress she was no clothes horse and that whilst she wanted something "which you wouldn’t be embarrassed to be seen in, in public.", the collection was about practicality and good engineering rather than high fashion.  The  Eventing World Champion has used her British Eventing number 176 and her initials as the collection logo.  Zara who is engaged the to the Rugby player Mike Tindall, modelled a range of Musto products in a photo shoot at the 12th century Berkeley Castle in Gloucestershire.  Whilst she looks "hot to trot" in the photos, Miss Phillips who is 11th in line to the throne appears uncomfortable with the label of "model" preferring to be described as an athlete.  I think given her sporting achievements this is only fair, and her lack of vanity and committed approach to her riding has resulted in a stylish but functional range of technical clothing.

The same can not be said of Katie Price's equestrian range.  Stylish it is not, the bubblegum pink range of equestrian clothes are tacky at best.  However, whilst Zara's stylish collection is completely in keeping with the image of the Royal Equestrian, Katie Price's collection is equally in keeping with the image of the reality star and former glamour model and page three girl.  She said of her collection that she wants to  bring  'real glamour and sparkle onto the yard'.

KP Equestrian: Raspberry Pink Velour hoodie and joggers

Katie will be launching her collection at this years Horse of the Year show in October. Katie commented: “Ever since I can remember, I’ve dreamt of riding at Horse of the Year Show. So I’m just so excited at being asked to ride there in October to coincide with the launch of my equestrian clothing range. I know I’m not of the same standard as those riding there competitively, but I’m working with my dressage trainer, Andrew Gould, on something that will have a definite ‘wow’ factor. I can’t wait!”  Whilst, there is no doubt, Katie has long been an enthusiatic rider, she is not in the same class as Zara Phillips and the equestrian range is part of a large array of Katie Price products from perfume to books.

Characterised by its predominant colour scheme of bubblegum pink the range sports a  mix of sparkly buttons and zip pulls as well as our signature silver trims and prints.  It even includes diamontee decorated t-shirts.  Whilst the KP Pony range has been a big hit with little girls, I challenge any grown woman to wear these outfits and keep a straight face.  Without doubt, it certainly appears to lack the high levels of technical engineering and functionality of the musto range.

KP Fashions features Jackets, T shirts , Hoodies, Sweats and Velour tracksuits as well as related childrens wear range £14.99 for a vest top to £69.99 for a jacket.

Other fashionable equestrian brands include Anky Technical Casuals, Kingland and Gersemi.

Anky Techical Casuals was launched by triple Olympic champion Anky van Grunsven, one of the best modern day dressage riders in the world. Again as you would expect whilst fashion was important, there is also a focus on superior technical materials and optimum functionality.  Kingsland originates from Scandinavia and is designed by Lin Kingsroed who herself comes from a family of top riders. This brand combines classic equestrian wear with up to date styling and uses top quality materials.  Finally another  hugely popular Scandanavian brand, Gersemi  market themselves as 'The Equestrian Fashion Brand' and emphasise style and quality.