I am still holding on to my entry form and i have drawn a few shapes and forms on the template i.e circles, triangles, squares, stars that kinda thing. Hopefully it would be coloured in and ready for submission before the 30th of June......yeah!
Designs have been pouring in for the Converse © Trace Your Lace competition. Some designers have submitted up to 30 entries, and the various designs speak of the diversity of Converse lovers and their aesthetic references – some designs have been submitted in fabric and others with various ‘bling’ type materials pasted on them. Another interesting fact that’s emerged from the entries is that Converse truly defies age boundaries – the youngest competitor is 16, as per the competitions age limit, and the oldest a 75 year old retiree!!
People are showcasing their creativity in a BIG way. You know the saying go BIG or go HOME? Well the following people aren’t going home anytime soon...
There’s a certain appeal to this design that I can’t quite place my finger on. It’s one of those shoes you look at in a store, try it on, put it back on the shelf and then stand in the middle of the store with the shoe in your hand and a pondering look on your face. Like you want to have it cause it's such a beautiful creation but you wonder…WHAT THE HELL AM I GOING TO WEAR with it?? I would guess that the younger crowd would get away with wearing this though cause i can't imagine the 75year retiree wearing this!
This design was submitted by a guy called Chipatu Mwasinga (had to really stop myself from googlin him. I’m a google freak: have googled half the people on this site.)
I had to enlarge, then re-size this picture countless times to figure out what design it is. I can make out the words STYLE in the graffiti-type writing (?) on the sneaker mara I still can’t make out what that art on the shoe is all about. Looks like a very colourful fly that’s been violently DOOM©’d or RAID©ed or whatever insect repellant people use. I can see myself in a long denim skirt, a red t-shirt, an orange t-shirt that shows the red t-shirt beneath it, bangles….hayi I’m getting lost in the dream cause I can’t ever wear this..NOT with anything. And the blue laces?? Aesthetically they work, but practically they would look terrible when this pair gets to the DIRTY stage (cause no one washes a pair of Chuck Taylors anyway!)…or maybe they should be dirty before they look wearable. Maybe that’s the trick.
This design was submitted by a guy called Sa’ood (can’t even pronounce this name)
If I had a choice between these 3 pairs, I’d definitely go for this one.
Love the Living Legend thing happening on this design. Cause really, think about it....if converse has been around for the past 100 years, then the wearers are part of the converse legend! I may never get a street or highway named after me but I can definitely feel like I am part of history by wearing this pair. Okay the orange/red bit is a bit too bright for the overall black feel but maybe it would look better on another colour of the same design.
Designed by a girl called Chez.
The judging process:
The judging process is currently at the stage where the judges will choose 20 designs as semi-finalists - the top 10 amateur and top 10 professional designs. These designs will be posted on the website (www.converse-sa.co.za ) and the public will place their votes, to select the top five options in each category.
From the public vote, which will decide on the top 5 in each category, the judges will select the ultimate winners – 1 professional and 1 amateur winner, who will both walk away with an Apple Air book, which is transferable for the cash equivalent of R25,000.00
So, what do YOU think of the designs? Would you wear any of these Chuck Taylors on your feet?