"The Chair before the Game"

In the world of polo, victory isn’t forged solely on the field—it begins in the quiet moments before the match.
It all starts with a chair: here, players study the field, lace up their boots, tighten their knee guards, and take a deep breath before diving into competition. Where strategy meets spirit, tension transforms into determination, and the tradition of polo lives on.

For Salone del Mobile 2025, La Martina presents “The Chair Before the Game”, an immersive design and art installation where the timeless soul of polo meets craftsmanship, sustainability, and human connection.

At the heart of the project is a series of upcycled vintage sculptural chairs, transformed into emotional design objects by artist and La Martina’s Artistic Director, Michel Rosenfelder.
Each chair is a handmade masterpiece, crafted with reverence for the raw material—every thread, every seam, every crease respected. A design imbued with La Martina’s DNA, echoing the codes of polo: the rugged beauty of tack, the worn leather of bridles, the movement of fringing, and the protective softness of saddle padding—all elements that quietly hold the spirit of the game.

The works were curated under the creative vision of Antonella Di Pietro, La Martina’s Creative Director, who blends design, tradition, and Argentine heritage into a single powerful narrative.

“This project celebrates the moment before action - a tribute to the elegance of stillness and the soul of the player,” says Di Pietro. “It’s also a way to honor the human stories behind every object - their materials, their makers, and their meaning.”

Complementing the installation, La Martina introduces a limited-edition capsule collection of upcycled polo shirts, created in collaboration with Palingen - a social enterprise that provides training and opportunity to incarcerated women through the art of craftsmanship.
Each shirt is reimagined and deconstructed by hand, using discarded materials and archived La Martina fabrics - transforming waste into beauty and giving a second chance to both textiles and people.