We are pleased to announce the winner and runners-up of Corgi’s Winter Sock Design Competition! It has been a joy to receive the submissions and we can’t wait to host another competition in 2018.

“A big thank you to all applicants! We’re astounded by the amount of thought and skill went into the designs. A special congratulations to the winners and runners up mentioned below and watch this space for more competitions in the future!" Hayley, Designer at Corgi.

Unfortunately we weren’t able to respond to all applicants due to the sheer number of submissions, however, we’ve put together a showcase of the winning designs and honourable mentions, along with some feedback from the Corgi design panel. All the designers mentioned in this article will receive some of our luxury socks through the post!

“All of Corgi’s sock design is done in-house, so this is the first time that we have allowed for external design submissions. It has been a real triumph and we’re looking forward to seeing how well the winning socks perform on the shop floor.” Chris Jones, Co-managing director of Corgi.

Drum roll, please…

1st Place goes to Paulo De Silva, Arts University Bournemouth, with ‘Captain Corgi’

first place sock

Reason for Design Choice: “I chose to incorporate a Corgi in my sock because I felt it would be a nice touch considering the name of the brand. Having had a look at the existing socks, and seeing that some are already very heavily based on Corgi's, I chose to incorporate the Corgi lightly, rather than repetitively as it's already been done. After designing the Corgi I thought it would be interesting to add a hat or an accessory to him, which is where the idea of a pilot's hat came into place. I also noticed that there are some cool patterns happening in existing socks, so it would look good to use the idea of the pilot hat and incorporate aeroplanes as part of the pattern in the socks.”

Feedback From Corgi: Excellent commercial design, fun and quirky with good colour choice and placement. We loved captain Corgi peeking out from the heel and the repeat plane motifs in the background. We think this would be a great addition to our range and we’re looking forward to getting these out on the shop floor. It’s new and exciting but still fits into the Corgi aesthetic. An outstanding effort!

Corgi will produce and socks made in Paulo’s design which will be available in the Corgi shop within the upcoming months. He will also receive some handmade luxury socks made in his own design. Many congratulations Paulo!

Instagram: @paulodsart

 

2nd Place goes to Nicola Garland, Arts University Bournemouth 

second place sock

Reason for Design Choice: “This particular design is part of a series of printed patterns that I drew using black fine liner and then transferred to screen for printing. This process allowed me to layer up several colours. In the end, I chose this design because I felt that 2-3 layers of coloured pattern would be most appropriate when applied to this context. In my opinion, the pink and navy creates a cohesive design that has just the right impact without being appearing too busy.” 

Feedback: We loved Nicola’s bold, large-scale, freehand graphic design. Navy and Pink is a great colour combination for us, we would have loved to have seen these knitted. Well done Nicola!

3rd Place goes to Julia Crowson, Make it in Design, with ‘Kingfisher’ 

third place sock 

Reason for Design Choice: “I recently spotted a kingfisher whilst out walking and was completely captivated by the beautiful iridescent blues and bright orange feathers. It was truly magnificent and to be fortunate to see it dive and catch a fish was wonderful. One of the few sightings I have seen of this beautiful bird - I had to capture it in my design.”

Feedback: Julia’s take on our ‘scene socks’ with the Kingfisher design we thought was well balanced, bright and interesting. This would have been a great addition to our collection, well done Julia!

Instagram: @juliacrowson

 

Mona Rathi, London College of Fashion 

 Reason for Design Choice: “The design is inspired by the theme of beauty and delicacy with a focus on modern day woman. It creates a subtle atmosphere with cool colours and hand-drawn lipstick design combined with bolder black heart doodle giving it a perfect combination of bold and beautiful. It caters to brand identity with the placement of logo on the right sock as well. This is made in an effort to acknowledge the unconventional sock designs and get inspired by new themes.”

Feedback: We appreciate the sentiment behind this design. It certainly possessed the uniqueness needed to push the boundaries of design. Good attention to detail adding our logo as well. 

Instagram: @monarathi58

Charlie Smith, Staffordshire University

 

Reason for Design Choice: “This sock design consists of autumnal colours that imply a warm and a natural aspect. I stuck to neutral colours that worked well together and were of a similar tone. I used only 2 colours to add simplicity to the design.

The surface design itself is a repeat print of rabbits in different poses. This again came with the fact I wanted my sock design to have a natural aspect. I am currently in student accommodation and am lucky enough to be able to see rabbits from my window at different intervals during the day. Our communal area is also housing a warren of 6 baby rabbits of which are a treasure to watch.

The print used is made up of various outline drawings of rabbits, of which are all my own work. I later imported these onto Photoshop where I toggled with the colour and scale as well as finalised a composition of which satisfied me. The outline colour of the rabbits was changed to match that of the colour of the cuffs, heel and toe of the sock, thus bringing the design together.”

Feedback: The repeated motifs in these is lovely, with enough variance in there to make it fun and entertaining. A lovely rich choice of colour too. 

Instagram: @charlsusankate_design

Anne-Margreet Niemeijer, Make it in Design School with ‘HATS’

 

Reason for Design Choice: Since Corgi celebrates its anniversary I looked at fashion in 1892. These hats show luxury, and since the hats are not commonly worn on people’s heads anymore, you can now wear them on your feet! The black colour refers also to the mines present in the area where the company was founded. The colours of the sock refers to the coat of arms of the Welsh county of Carmarthenshire (red, yellow and blue)”

Feedback: This wonderful hand-drawn bowler and top hat design we thought was a great nod to our history and heritage. A lot of thought went into this design and we really appreciate it.

Website: https://bluedewdesign.com/

Instagram: @bluedew_design

Facebook: Bluedew Design

Alexandra Camilla Anderson, London College of Fashion

 

 Reason for Design Choice: “This design is knitted on a standard gauge domestic machine using a punchcard which I have created and hand needle felting to produce the irregular spot patterning. The design inspiration comes from a workshop I conducted with a group of children, my aim - for the knits to be fun and playful. I feel that this particular design embodies a retro arcade aesthetic.”

Feedback: It’s the simplicity of this design which makes it very effective. ‘Retro’ is increasingly becoming part of popular culture and it has been integrated here very well.

Website: https://portfolio.arts.ac.uk/project/7348-touchy-feely/

Instagram: @knitwearbyalexandra

 

Jackie Tahara, Make it in Design School with ‘Friendly Bear’ 

Reason for Design Choice: “I really wanted to submit a design that would fit right in next to Corgi’s current design offerings, and also be light-hearted and amusing and perfect for adding a bit of whimsy and bright colour to someone’s wardrobe. So here is my design featuring my Friendly Bear who I hope will make people smile when they put on their socks!”

Feedback: The bears were a simple but fun design, creating a striking overall pattern. Lovely soft colour combination. They look comfortable even on paper!

Website: http://www.unblinkstudio.com

Instagram: unblinkstudio

Facebook: Unblinkstudio

Matthew Ponting, Arts University Bournemouth

 

Reason for Design Choice: “I chose to create this vector floral pattern as the main source of inspiration in my print work derives from natural forms and structures. I enjoy interpreting these shapes and compositions into bright colourful designs which I feel fit the application to many stationery and textile related items. I feel this category of design fulfils my passion for graphic art and nature.”

Feedback: A great commercial floral design, we felt this was a clean, well-balanced proposal with excellent potential.

Instagram: @matthewpontingdesign.com

Twitter: @mpontingdesign

Website: www.matthewponting.com

Claire Mounier, Make it in Design School

 

Reason for Design Choice: “I was inspired by my love for wilderness and nature for this design.”

Feedback: We loved this Scandinavian inspired bear and rabbit design. Really conveys a frosty night in the Arctic. The animals are very cute too!

Instagram: @studioesperluette

Website: https://www.studioesperluette.fr/

Rachel Morris, Arts University Bournemouth

 

Reason for Design Choice: “I chose to use the design from my latest project based on the theme of codes. This, in particular, was focusing on the textures of braille and Morse code, using lines and circles as my main shapes. The design I have attached has two different colour ways. I thought the different coloured socks worked better, and would stand out more but still work well together.”

Feedback: This braille inspired design we thought was unique and well executed. The idea of asymmetric socks also really intrigued Corgi’s panel.

Instagram: @raetextiles

Susanne Sanlier, Make it in Design with ‘Bulldog Lover’

 

Reason for Design Choice: “I would like to show you my "Bulldog Lover" design which I chose because bulldogs are in high fashion at the moment and they should be celebrated for the people who adore them. A bulldog lover normally has a great sense of humour and loves to show his devotion for the funny looking, faithful creatures. The light blue I chose for the hems are suitable for women and men alike and this neutral colour never goes out of fashion. I painted the bulldog portrait with watercolours.”

Feedback: We are a big fan of dogs here at Corgi, this bulldog design is fun and quirky. Who doesn’t love a traditional British Bulldog?

Instagram: @susisanlier

Angelica Mendoza, Arts University Bournemouth

 

Reason for Design Choice: I chose this deisgn because of the fun shapes and colour options. 

Feeback: Very creative. We really enjoyed the unusual colour combination as well as the stencil floral pattern. Very unique and eye-catching!