Meet Rinaa Shah, the first Indian woman polo player, who is also an ace designer and had her formal training in Fashion Design from New York and an Executive course in Business Management from Harvard. She launched her own fashion label in 1997 with the name- ‘Rinaldi Designs’ that catered to the premium high fashion footwear for women & kids. Rinaa always had a flair for high adrenaline sports and that’s why even after tasting immense success as a fashion designer, Rinaa always had strong aspirations to professionally practice a sport and it all happened in 2009 when she fell in love 
with Polo. In a detailed conversation with TMM, Rinaa talks about her versatile career graph and what keeps her going.
Your website bio reads, “When imagination meets the brave”, you get Rinaa Shah. Throw some light on your life philosophy as a successful woman.
My life philosophy is to always challenge yourself and keep pushing your limits. Do things that are out of the box and don’t always stay in your comfort zone. This is evident given my career as a successful footwear designer, Polo Player, DJ, Drummer and India’s first woman electronic Percussionist. In fact, every birthday I gift myself an experience. For example, I have jumped out of the plane, gone trekking, car racing, rock climbing and more.
From being a fashion entrepreneur to the first Indian woman professional level polo player, how and why did this shift happen?
Actually, it wasn’t a shift. I started playing polo while I was running Rinaldi, my footwear label. Polo happened when I went to watch a game, and I was immediately drawn towards the sport, the horses and the way the game is played. While it is primarily described as a men’s sport, I fell in love with the game and decided to take it up, and that’s how it began.
When you launched your label to till today things have changed a lot in the fashion world. What do you think has been the best part of this change in the industry?
The fashion world today is more creative and open. At present, there are many more platforms to grow a brand and more tools to show your creativity.
You are very active on social media; how do you consider as a tool at a professional level?
I use social media to promote polo as a sport along with my polo team, Rinaldi Polo. Over the years, I have used the medium to connect with many polo clubs and polo players and I find it pretty exciting. Recently, during the lockdown – I made sure to capture my games live for everyone to see from the comfort of their home. It’s amazing how you can use technology to connect with people all over. During the lockdown, I had also done a lot of live DJ sessions as well, thanks to social media. This way, I have reached a much bigger audience and connected with many clubs that I wish to play in the future. I also use social media to share my travel and fashion style with like-minded people.
Polo for women in India has a long way to go, what you think needs to be done to bring more attention to it?
Polo is a very tough and different sport, which is why it is male-dominated. However, for all the women out there, I want them to see and know that if you put your heart into something and work hard you can achieve anything. I continue to keep promoting the sport and encourage more women to join it.
As an individual, what fashion and style mean to you?
Fashion means what you can carry confidently with grace and comfort.
You are also a DJ & Electronic Drummer. What’s new happening there?
As a DJ, I love seeing people enjoy and watching them dance. I love being the person to move them to a better state of mind. I am right now creating some unique drums that I have been working on since a year and will be launching soon.
Rapid Fire
Favourite car: The Mazda Sports Car
Favourite holiday destination: South Africa
Favourite watch: Rolex
Favourite makeup brand: Mac
If you have been an outfit, it would be: A sexy formal gown
One word to define your style: Bold
5 things that are always there in your handbag: Lip balm, credit card, hand cream, lipstick, and compact
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