Speciali Competition Winners Announced
After thousands of entries, here at Umbro we can unveil the finalists in our competition to customise the sole on a pair of Specialis. The response we had was amazing, with a fantastic range of designs from different ages and different countries around the world. These are the final 14, chosen from the thousands of different designs by a team of judges which included Umbro designers Stuart Semple and Stewart Scott-Curran, and Esquire’s art director David McKendrick. Initially we planned to have 11 winners, but the points system used by the judges to pick their favourites meant that we ended up with four designs tied in 11th place!
Here’s what Stuart Semple had to say about the entrants:
‘There were some unbelievable entries, I was pretty surprised by the diversity. At the top end the standard was incredible – I was particularly impressed with the entries that dealt with the architecture of the boot within their work. There were some really hilarious entries too. I think overall the shortlist shows an exciting breadth of talent and some exciting non-literal interpretations. It seems the Speciali competition has bought some incredible talents out of the woodwork.’
Each of the winners will have a pair of Specialis with their design on the sole made up for them, but that’s not all. Michael Owen, Gael Clichy and John Terry will each pick their favourites from the final 15 and wear them on the pitch later this year in a Premiership match.
Here, in no particular order, are the winners, with comments from designer Stewart Scott-Curran:
Tailored by David Smith Zoom Zoom by Luke Tonge
On Tailored – ‘This is a really clever design that seems obvious when you see it but those are the designs that often stand out. The ones that make you go “I can’t believe I didn’t think of that!”
On Zoom Zoom – ‘I really like the simplicity of the design and the balance of colour. It’s a very eye catching design and proves that sometimes the simplest is the best.’
Aeiko by Pete Harrison Zombie by Stuart McCluskie
On Aeiko – ‘Another beautifully executed design that really pops on the red and white speciali. I love the clean lines and the little details that reveal themselves on the second or third look.’
On Zombie – ‘There’s a lot of humour in football and I love the sense of humour in this design. I also loved how the designer used the placement of the studs as eyes. I like it when the design is tailored to the canvas rather than the other way around.’
Football Of The World by Thomas McDonald / Muscle Du Pied by Jessica Fayard
On Football Of The World – ‘This was a very popular concept but this was the only version of the flags theme that has been hand drawn and really considered. If you notice, the designer has matched flags that contain circles to where the studs are placed. It was that attention to detail that really made this stand out from the rest.’
On Muscle Du Pied – ‘Again, this was a popular concept but for me this really talks into the idea that the Speciali boot is designed around the anatomy of the foot and that the footwear designers have considered every aspect of muscle structure and pressure points. I love the visualization of that concept in this design.’
FaceRed by Joaquin Cordoba Koi Kick by Andrew Ashbourne
On FaceRed – ‘Beautifully drawn. I love how the artist keeps it really tight at the bottom but the drawing gets looser as you reach the toe.’
On Koi Kick – ‘The execution and colouring of this is phenomenal. It really flows with the shape of the footplate and the inclusion of the ball takes it to the next level.’
Subbed by Jeff Jardine Winners Never Quit by Jack Allen
On Subbed – ‘Great eye catching design using a real iconic image of football. I love the fact that the designer is playing with scale so you can really see the detail and imperfections of the figure.’
On Winners Never Quit – ‘Simple, hand crafted design that really uses the monochromatic colour scheme to full effect. Great sense of humour too.’
Speciali Pride by Marko Govorusa Eat My Gooooal! by Tom Fournier
On Speciali Pride – ‘The use of the Umbro Diamond in this design is inspired. The end result is vibrant and alive.’
On Eat My Gooooal! – ‘Again, my favourite designs are the ones that really use and enhance the shape of the canvas available. This is probably the best example of this that I’ve seen. It also has a great sense of fun, epitomized by the placement of the diamond. Fantastic.’
Reach For The Stars by Mihai Oluru Aaarg by Scott Pollard
On Reach For The Stars – ‘The contrast of the dark design against the white boot makes this design really pop. It’s also a reminder that football is the world’s only truly global game.’
On Aaarg – ‘I love the humour in this design and the colours are great. If you snooze you lose!’
End of Summer by Tian Lan
On 2 Nov 2009, at 6:32 pm FormFiftyFive – Design inspiration from around the world » Blog Archive » Umbro Speciali wrote:
[...] thousands of entries, Umbro unveiled the finalists in their competition to customise the sole on a pair of Specialis. Shown are some of the final 14, chosen from the [...]
On 2 Nov 2009, at 9:05 pm Jorge Bonilla wrote:
Congratulations to all the winners… these are truly inspiring designs. I specially love the little nod to my own design “HARAKIRI” on the Football of the World shoe hehehehe…
I’m kinda bummed out cuz I really wanted to win this contest, but to those won… really well done, u deserve it.
Cheers!!
On 2 Nov 2009, at 11:40 pm Umbro Got Soul wrote:
[...] your opinionations and informed decisions before the very end. After thousands of entries, here at Umbro we can unveil the finalists in our competition to customise the sole on a pair of Specialis. The [...]
On 3 Nov 2009, at 12:36 am Luke Tonge wrote:
Interesting choices!
On 3 Nov 2009, at 3:11 am Umbro Speciali | The World Matters wrote:
[...] 3:00 am . Filled under: Arts & Culture | No Comments After thousands of entries, Umbro unveiled the finalists in their competition to customise the sole on a pair of Specialis. Shown are some of the final 14, chosen from the [...]
On 3 Nov 2009, at 6:26 pm Umbro Speciali - Linney Design wrote:
[...] thousands of entries, Umbro unveiled the finalists in their competition to customise the sole on a pair of Specialis. Shown are some of the final 15, chosen from the [...]
On 3 Nov 2009, at 9:34 pm David Westmore wrote:
“Tailored” by David Smith and “Eat My Gooooal!” by Tom Fournier are excellent designs, tailored to the shape of the sole.
However too many of the other designs have somewhat random designs that don’t particularly serve the boot-shape.
And “Football Of The World” by Thomas McDonald “Muscle Du Pied” by Jessica Fayard are poorly executed efforts, from children by the looks of it.
On 4 Nov 2009, at 6:29 pm Umbro Competition: The Sole of Some Specialis | A Design Mafia wrote:
[...] Want to hear the judges comments about each of the finalists? Click here–> [...]
On 4 Nov 2009, at 11:32 pm Tom Fournier wrote:
Thanks sooooo much!!! There were alot of great designs and i’m honoured to be shortlisted as one of the best. Thanks for the great comments, to those who voted and the guys at Umbro for putting on the Competiton! Lets do it again next year!
On 5 Nov 2009, at 2:24 pm Nikki wrote:
Well done to all the entries especially “Eat My Gooooal!” by Tom Fournier. I love the design and think that it has a brilliant sense of humour! Congratulations, you must be so chuffed!
On 6 Nov 2009, at 1:35 am THOMAS MCDONALD wrote:
“Football of the world ” created by Thomas Mcdonald thank you to the judges for seeing that all the art work that was drawn and coloured was my own work and like most eight year olds i love football and am so excited that i am a finalist thank you everyone x
On 6 Nov 2009, at 1:07 pm Judy Bartlett wrote:
I really like the “Football of the world” it really gets the message across that football is a global game! Well done Thomas.
On 6 Nov 2009, at 4:54 pm Holly Wilde wrote:
This boot really cought my attention, its bright,hand drawn and most off all the attention to detail is fantastic especialy how the flags with circle’s in are over the studs and for a boy of 8 to have done this is brilliant. Very well done you should win its Great!
On 6 Nov 2009, at 6:40 pm bekki wrote:
the design by thomas mcdonald is really good, hope he wins, good luck thomas
On 6 Nov 2009, at 7:14 pm linz wrote:
well done thomas, you will be designing your own clothes next, good luck in the comp. ur a winner anyway xx
On 6 Nov 2009, at 8:50 pm Janet Cooper wrote:
Really like this boot by Thomas Mcdonald, the studs placed where the flags have circles is really good and creative, lots of colours and nice to see world flags all together.
On 7 Nov 2009, at 1:45 pm paul nicholson wrote:
well done thomas you have really put time and effort into your design, you deserve to win.
On 7 Nov 2009, at 8:05 pm Lesley Nicholson wrote:
“Football of the World” is really good, a lot of imagination has gone into this design and for an eight year old it’s excellent. Well done and good luck Thomas xx
On 8 Nov 2009, at 12:36 pm Joanne Hurst wrote:
Football of the world by Thomas McDonald is by far the best, this design can easily be used all over the world in this leading brand. Well done Thomas.
On 8 Nov 2009, at 7:45 pm chantelle mcdonald wrote:
football of the world is an excellent design, great use of colours very vibrant and when playing footy with this design on the bottom of the boots it will really stand out!
On 10 Nov 2009, at 12:22 pm Opus Art Blog | Stuart Semple for Umbro: A Striking Collaboration wrote:
[...] work features in our current exhibition, Revert to Type, has teamed up with leading sports brand Umbro to create a limited edition football boot. Semple, well-known for his striking pieces commenting on [...]
On 11 Nov 2009, at 4:33 pm Umbro Blog – Speciali Competition: the players pick their winners wrote:
[...] announcing our fifteen winners of the competition to customise the sole of your Specialis last week, today we’re very [...]
On 12 Nov 2009, at 12:49 pm Kierra wrote:
EAT MY GOAL!! what a sense of humour… think this design has won the most creative award by far!! Wishing you all the very best Tom! x
On 14 Nov 2009, at 1:46 pm deano wrote:
Great designs but Eat my Goal gets our vote – it stands out as something different. Well done Tom
On 20 Nov 2009, at 2:12 am faycal wrote:
i need to know where is situated the warehouse of umbro into uk becouse iwant to bay many items
On 20 Nov 2009, at 6:06 pm Andrew Nicholson wrote:
I think Football Of The World should win, as it is hand drawn & must have took time and effort especially for an 8 year old. Thomas McDonald To Win!!!
On 21 Nov 2009, at 3:15 pm Quick Links: Weekly Notables « Pattern Pulp wrote:
[...] 11. Brilliant diversity in the winners of Umbro’s design competition, via Umbro. [...]
On 7 Dec 2009, at 10:32 pm WSDIA Blog: WeShouldDoItAll – info@wsdia.com wrote:
[...] Umbro ‘Speciali’ Winners This is about a month old but i enjoyed these Umbro competition entries. “After thousands of entries, here at Umbro we can unveil the finalists [...]
On 14 Dec 2009, at 5:01 am [NEWSFLASH] UMBRO FOOTBALL BOOT DESIGN WINNERS | The Express Art Blog wrote:
[...] Umbro have narrowed the flood of entries to the final fifteen. Check them out below and visit the Umbro blog to find out more about each design. Each of the winners will have their designs brought to life, [...]