- Home
- Voices
-
Go Racing
In This Section
- Win
-
Offers
In This Section
-
The Scene
In This Section
- News & Features
-
Students
In This Section
- Scottish Racing
Fashion
Revolutionary racing silks showcased in live Ascot race!
Spectators at Ascot on Saturday 9th July were treated to something very different when the ‘Central Saint Martins Design Challenge Stakes’ came under orders. The race was the finale of a competition to find innovative new designs for jockey silks from the prestigious design college in London, with the winner, Henry Griffin’s colours taking centre stage on the historic Berkshire course.
Forget the hoops, stripes and circles that have been familiar on jockeys’ outfits for almost 250 years, these colours were inspired by fruit machines with oranges, lemons and cherries, the number seven and a lucky horse shoe all featuring.
Directorship wins a hard-fought battle in the Central Saint Martins Design Challenge Stakes
The designs of the racing silks, the colours worn by jockeys at horse races, has not changed much since they were first introduced in 1762 to help race judges identify runners. Now the fruit machine-inspired silks, created by third-year BA (Hons) Graphic Design student Henry, 21, from Loughton, Essex, have won a competition run by Racing for Change to create a 21st century look for Britain’s jockeys.
Winner Henry says the inspiration for his designs came from trips to the bookies in Loughton with his dad, Perry.
Henry said: “I was about 14 and wasn’t allowed in the betting shop but I always remember looking through the door. There’d be racing on the TV and a fruit machine in the corner. To my mind betting on horseracing and playing fruit machines go together, the link just clicked in my head.
“The colours have to be vibrant and easily identifiable by the crowd, so I made the fruits and symbols on the silks as bold as possible. I took a lot of time designing the caps, because they are very important in seeing the jockeys from a long way away.”
Rod Street, Chief Executive of Racing Enterprises Limited, added: “Henry’s designs caught our eye from the outset, not to say that this was by any means an easy competition to judge. Each of the designs presented by the students have been outstanding in their own, unique way, and we’ve spent weeks eagerly looking through the students’ work. They’ve well and truly earned their Central Saint Martins reputation on this occasion!”
The race was won in dramatic fashion with Directorship taking victory by a head in grape adorned colours.
Photographer Phil Fisk presents an image of Henry
Got Great Snaps?
Have you got some great images of people loving the races? Upload them here and you could win free racing tickets
Become A Spotter
- Want to go racing for free?
- Want to meet new people?
- Own a digital camera?
If yes, find out how to become a spotter.
What's on
May 18 2012
May 19 2012
May 26 2012
May 31 2012
Jun 19 2012
Royal Ascot (Ascot)
Royal Ascot is one of the centrepieces of the British social…
read more
12:48 Tue 21st June 2011
"Many of these, and some existing colours, fail to address the first design consideration: What is the purpose? That is clearly to aid identification - to be easily differentiated and describable by commentators. Some existing colours, such as Wylies' halved design, look like totally different from opposite sides."
Peter Gordon
report
17:10 Tue 17th May 2011
"Some really interesting designs there. I've always wondered why UK and Irish colours are so boring compared to the designs you see in America. "
Richard Keogh
report
17:23 Fri 13th May 2011
"Thank goodness it's only for one race. The 'attire' to bring jockeys into the 21C is better safety protection, not fruit machine tokens on their silks."
Sarah Wild
report