By Sima Mpahla
Our pick of the week has to be the returning ' Transport sock'. South Africans, especially Capetonians, understand this sock was inspired by our 'not-so' reliable transport system. I'm not writing this post to highlight the inefficiencies of our transport system....that is reserved for the newspapers.
FEAT. sock co. is in the business of designing playful, fun and storytelling designer socks. This particular pair evokes the rich stories of South Africans who use public transport on a daily basis, and I'm one of them. Lets start with the taxi:
THE TAXI
Who can forget the ever-impatient taxi-drivers who bend every rule of the road to get us to work early and maximise profit at the same time? When the taxi driver is speeding, passengers hardly ever complain, except for one scared mother who wants to arrive alive. In the taxi, there is this unspoken rule that anyone who sits in the front seat counts the money. People avoid this seat as much as possible and I often wonder: "Is this the poor effects of our education system? I mean, all you need to know is your maths times-tables?"
THE BUS
The bus is the safest and most expensive mode of transport. This is really for more introverted people. Passengers read books, or are glued to their cellphones. It's really hard to start a conversation on a bus. But the church ladies start a church sermon every now and then and when they sing those voices bring healing to my heart.
THE TRAIN
All hustlers are found here; the best sales men and women are found here and they could sell you anything from sweets to toilet paper. They have catch phrases for their products that charm their way into your pockets. I admire their hustle and their resistance to rejection.
With all of these modes of transport, I love the people; they are the essence. They always find a reason to crack a joke, laugh, be silly and embarrass themselves in front of people. FEAT. sock co. tries to capture these everyday stories into their sock designs.
These Transport socks are available in Men's UK size 8-11 and Ladies' UK size 4-7. Our original sock design had a dark navy background (see pic below). This time around we've brought them out in ladies' sizes for the first time, and instead of dark navy, we've recreated them in a soft faded-denim, melange cotton. The cotton itself is lush and soft to the skin, and the colour is slightly muted to accessorise well with more conservative clothing palettes, even though the taxi's and buses provide a nice pop of colour.
As we've mentioned time and again, our funky socks are all made right here in Cape Town, South Africa. We pride ourselves in always supporting local industry. They're 80% cotton, with a small percentage of nylon and elastane for stretch. All of our socks are washing machine friendly and super durable. You can purchase them in our sock shop in Cape Town (33 Palmer Road, Muizenberg), online through our online shop, and in selected local retailers. Awesome socks for everyone!
Styled photoshoot shot by Neil Roberts, styled and modelled by Gavin Mikey Collins.