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42 JA N UA R Y/ F E B R UA R Y 2 016 UNTACKED THE CLOTHES HORSE meets to find unusual buttons, like the Royal Rhodesia Regiment buttons that feature prominently on one of his favorite show coats, or the silver coins from the early 1900s that are now buttons on a different jacket. Originally from Woodside, Calif., Cook is currently based in San Diego—close enough to Los Angeles to source new materials in the city's prominent fashion district. Cook says his partnership with Renard et Cheval founder Nick Collins began organically and developed into a more formal arrangement a little over a year ago. Cook 's major source of inspiration is his favorite old films. "You watch a movie and see something fun, cool, or interesting, and I just thought some of the stuff could be adapted to [equestrian wear]," he says. "I have a baby blue cashmere coat with big navy cuffs," he continues. "It's the first one that I designed, and the style is what the father in e Sound Of Music wears. e collar on that coat from the movie is called a Mandarin collar, which I then put on a different coat. So with two details from one coat, I spread them between two styles." Cook 's photographic memory of film costumes makes the design process easy, and he's quick to follow his intuition on whether he likes the idea or not. "I'm pretty decisive, which makes the process easier," he says. "If I like it, I do it." And, of course, there are his bowties—the very accessory that made show stewards scratch their collective heads over the legality of the dapper punctuations to Cook 's ensembles. "e stewards correctly said that the bowties are not allowed," he admits. "[But] I asked the stewards, 'What's the point of the dress rule?' and they would say, 'To maintain the appropriate, formal look in the ring.' "To that I would respond, 'Am I not doing that? Do I look offensive?' And most responses are that I don't look normal, but I don't look offensive," Cook says. ese sartorial negotiations prompted Cook to delve into the rulebooks, and he discovered that the wording is not specific to prohibit his fashion choices. Fédération Equestre Internationale rules do state that riders are required to wear, per tradition, a coat of black or red or a color approved Cook has only worn "his craziest one," this black denim jacket with zipper details and a large belt, which weighs 8 pounds, once (at the 2014 Longines Masters of Los Angeles), "but it's pretty awesome," he says. Cook's battle to wear bowties in FEI competition has made him a pioneer of neckwear. SARA JORGENSEN PHOTO MOLLIE BAILEY PHOTO

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