9/20/2024
GQ Hype
From palace to polo field, the creative life of Padmanabh Singh, the Maharaja of Jaipur
Following his recent appointment as the global ambassador of the U.S. Polo Assn., the 26-year-old royal speaks exclusively with GQ about the elevated capsule collection he’s helped design for the brand, as well as his ambition to enhance Jaipur’s reputation as a centre for artistic excellence.
By Saloni Dhruv
20 September 2024
At eleven in the morning, the GQ team is ensconced in Shobha Niwas, also known as the Gold Room, in Jaipur’s City Palace. This private space, where Jaipur’s royal family hosts Diwali parties and exclusive dinners, is perched on the palace’s fourth floor. With its tall pillars and arches—a sight familiar to Bollywood fans—the room offers a sweeping view of the palace’s lush green lawns, where peacocks wander freely. Despite the relentless Jaipur heat, His Highness Maharaja Sawai Padmanabh Singh remains effortlessly composed as he strikes a pose for the camera. He is dressed in an inky blue shirt and matching pants, a design from his capsule collection with the U.S. Polo Assn. (USPA) that nails down the sporty royal style.
At 26, “Pacho” (as his family and half a million Instagram followers know him) is a polo player, conservationist, art enthusiast, and style savant. These are the qualities that led to the American label appointing the young maharaja as a global brand ambassador last week, and dropping the capsule collection co-designed by him. Inspired by the architectural grandeur of the City Palace and his deep-seated passion for polo, the collection features intricate details that pay homage to the indigenous Marwari horses of Rajasthan, blending regal charm with contemporary style.
After the shoot wraps up, at three in the afternoon, Padmanabh Singh invites us to Sukh Niwas, a former royal dining hall and drawing room now adorned with vintage paintings, antique furniture, and artworks. As his pug Marcelle settles by his side, Singh talks to us about preserving his royal heritage, his vision for popularizing the sport of polo, creating his first capsule collection, and who he thinks is the most stylish member of the royal family.
Fashion runs in your family—Your elegantly-dressed ancestors… you’ve been named GQ India’s Most Stylish Man in the past, and your sister leads the PDKF label…
Fashion truly runs deep in my family. It’s nice to have a family who has a sartorial sense. It’s also nice to engage in those conversations within the family and also then look at older members of the family and get inspired. For instance, my grandfather, Bhawani Singh Ji, his wife Padmini Devi, my parents— they’re all incredibly fashionable. But for me the epitome of style was my great-grandparents, Sawai Man Singh II and Gayatri Devi, who were undoubtedly the most stylish couple in the world.
Another member of my family I must mention, though our tastes differ, is Ram Singh II. He was a true pioneer—one of the first maharajas in India to wear spectacles, and trade the traditional dagger for a pistol. He was also one of the first men to bring cameras to India. His photographs, which are a part of our family museum, are among the only surviving pieces of evidence we have of how women looked in the late 1800s in Indian palaces. He was also a big Shiva devotee and was often seen shirtless. Like I said, not my kind of style, but stylish nonetheless. A trailblazer.
What inspires your own fashion sensibilities?
The Rajasthani way of dressing has always fascinated me. People in Rajasthan are very chic, very elegant. You go to a village here and the village headman—who, by the way, is not a very wealthy man—will turn up with a nicely starched turban, sporting a meticulously groomed moustache with three twirls on each side, and a stack of earrings. This shows the amount of detail that goes into their everyday look. Even when the women wear the traditional poshakhs [he gestures toward the photographs of his mother and grandmother, draped in poshakhs], I can’t think of any outfit that exudes such grace. My sister, Gauravi [Kumari], also inspires me.
In that case, who’s more stylish—you or your sister?
I’m perfectly content being second to my sister in everything.
That’s very diplomatic.
I’ve been raised in a family of incredibly strong, inspiring women who’ve made a lasting impact—not just on our family, but on countless women across the state and country. It’s a privilege to be surrounded by powerful and beautiful women, especially my sister.
Talking about fashion, how did your collaboration with U.S. Polo Assn. come about?
I’ve been in talks with the brand for over a year and a half, and what truly unites us in this collaboration is our shared passion for polo and horses. That love has been at the core of designing this new collection, apart from promoting and popularizing this sport. Through our conversations, I realized they were keen to incorporate elements close to my heart—things I grew up with and that are personal to me. For instance, you’ll notice subtle nods to the Pachranga flag throughout the collection, woven into every piece in a very subtle way.
How do you hope to raise awareness for Rajasthan’s indigenous Marwari horses through this collection?
During one of my conversations with the brand’s leaders, I casually mentioned the significance of Marwari horses, a breed deeply rooted in my family’s heritage and this palace. These horses played a crucial role in our history, with battles won on their backs. The USPA team immediately saw the potential, and Marwari horses became a focal point of this campaign. To me, the key to spreading any message is having the right platform. Many people outside Rajasthan are unaware that this incredible breed even exists. Raising awareness about its history, its sacrifices, and its story is the first and most important step. Once people are aware, we can start conversations around preservation. But for now, creating that platform is essential, and hopefully, this campaign can lead to further efforts in preserving this remarkable breed.
How have you infused your personal style into this collection?
As someone who has always admired fashion, collaborating with a team of experts who truly understand Indian markets and trends was incredibly insightful. While they excel in their profession, they were also open to my opinions. That meant a great deal to me. They incorporated my version of what I call a “farmer’s shirt”, which is a loose, weather-friendly cotton shirt with pleats in the front and back. They also introduced silhouettes that are typically uncommon in USPA collections, making this collaboration even more special.
As a member of the Rajasthan Polo Club and the captain of its polo team, how do you envision the sport evolving in India?
There are very few things in the world that are more beautiful than a horse running at 30 miles an hour stopping on a dime, turning around, and accelerating to 30 miles an hour again. Experiencing that up close, especially as a player, is unmatched. Even if I wasn’t a polo player, I would have been a fan of the sport. I was about 10 or 11 years old when I started playing. It came to me a bit slower than one would expect, given that I come from a family with so many great polo players. But once I started, there was no turning back.
The future of this sport is bright, especially with support from USPA, who I’m happy to say will sponsor our team and back young talent rising through the ranks. The Rajasthan Polo Club has also started a polo school, the first of its kind, where students first learn to ride, and once they’ve mastered that, they transition to polo. The goal is to not just nurture skilled riders, but also turn them into professional polo players. I’ve also donated two of my finest horses to the school, hoping to attract more people to experience this sport and raise awareness about it.
You’ve also undertaken an ambitious creative initiative by establishing the Jaipur Centre for Art, which launches later this year. How has your background in cultural heritage management and art history influenced this whole project?
This is probably the first time I’m talking about this project, but I’m so proud and excited about this new initiative (in partnership) with a very dear friend of mine, Noelle Kadar. The Jaipur Centre for Art is a permanent space here at the palace, and at Jaigarh Fort, where we’ll host a full-time residency and showcase various forms of public art. Growing up in Jaipur, surrounded by these stunning palaces and incredible works of art, it was inevitable that art would become a significant part of my life. But it was during my travels abroad, where I studied history and conservation, that my eyes were truly opened to the importance of preserving our history. Since then, restoring the original splendour of these palaces [he gestures around] has been a personal mission.
Jaipur has always been a forward-thinking city. Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II’s decision to build Jaipur on a flat surface with a grid layout, rooted in his astronomical studies, was a groundbreaking move. He invited artisans, industrialists, jewellers and textile experts from across the country to shape this city. Jaipur’s contemporary roots have kept it at the forefront of art and culture discussions. Naturally, I want to contribute to that conversation. What excites me most is the juxtaposition of historic settings with contemporary art—whether it’s blending different eras, countries or styles. That fusion of worlds is what truly inspires me.
Apart from art and fashion, what’s on the horizon?
This year has been an emotional rollercoaster for me. In June, I was in a terrible car accident that left me with a broken back. I had to go through a massive surgery and now have rods and screws holding (up) my back. I was told I might not play polo for six months—or even longer. Just to be able to walk out of hospital and have my first meal in a restaurant, I think I had tears that day, because it meant so much to me. This episode taught me to truly cherish the things I have in life, to embrace every opportunity, and to never take anything for granted. Now, everything I do needs to have meaning. I want to focus on what I love and channel my energy into the things that matter most—family affairs, managing our estates, supporting women through the Princess Diya Kumari Foundation, and, of course, polo.