On Jan. 12, Clint replied to a commenter on X criticizing his brand’s recent output saying it lacked creativity. Rather than simply bash them and keep it moving, Clint offered them a challenge: design a 10-piece collection in 18 hours, and he’d give them £5,000 if he liked it. After 18 hours, nothing, but Clint didn’t abandon the idea. He opened up the challenge to his 175,000-plus followers for the next 24 hours.
Hundreds of hopeful users submitted their designs. Clint even retweeted a handful of his personal favorites. Some of them showed real promise, like a black puffer jacket with panels warped into the shape of Corteiz’s C Star logo. Others seemed to have missed the mark, like a crewneck with an all-over print of Big Ben on it, too literal of an interpretation of Corteiz’s London roots.
As more and more X users caught wind of Clint’s exercise, he also began to face backlash from those who felt he was taking advantage of young creators. Many argued that a 10-piece collection was worth much more than £5,000. True to his trolling nature, Clint responded to his critics with a photo of an assortment of submissions pinned to a wall in his studio accompanied by the caption, “2026 lookin good. Thank You.”
The following day, he returned to X to announce four finalists, giving his followers the power to vote for the overall winner. Ultimately, all four walked away with a reward: the fourth place got £250 to spend on Corteiz online, third place got a pair of Corteiz x Nike Air Max 95s from Clint’s personal archive, and the runner-up received £1000. And nine hours after the poll was posted, the winner was crowned: 22-year-old Syria native Mayyar Ibrahim.
Ibrahim’s 10-piece capsule perfectly aligned with the established codes of Corteiz. A yellow soccer jersey inspired by a classic Arsenal kit from the ’90s, and a textured black work jacket with a giant logo across the back were among the standouts. And whether you think 10 designs are worth more than £5,000 or not, Clint kept his word and sent Ibrahim his prize money.
Following his contest victory, we reached out to Ibrahim to get his reaction to being chosen, find out what he plans to do with the money, and more.
What was your reaction to being voted the winner of the Corteiz design contest?
It was very exciting. I was just on my phone the whole time checking my X account.
Did you think you actually had a chance to win or were you just doing this for fun?
I was having fun, but at the same time I was kind of only designing this collection to win, so I made sure I made some really good pieces.
Can you talk about the designs you created? What inspired them?
For the blanks, I got my inspiration from the old Mercedes colorways. For the sweatshirts, I just did something that would match the Corteiz vibe—camo with bright colors. I also didn’t want to make the matching sets have the same logo up and down, so I did different logos. The jerseys are inspired by old jerseys from Italy and Arsenal.
What is your favorite item?
My favorite item is the green T-shirt. I just love the colorway and the design overall.
How long did the 10 designs take you to make?
It took me five hours to design the whole collection.
Are you excited to see if your designs will actually be produced by Clint for a future drop?
I would be very happy to see Clint using my designs. I know they would fit the brand’s vibe.
Are you a formally trained designer?
I’m not formally trained. I learned how to use Illustrator two years ago so I could design for my brand that I started, Graphic. I took a break due to me being busy with college, but I’ll be back soon.
Why are you a fan of Clint and the brand?
I discovered Corteiz back in 2022. I loved everything that Clint was doing to the brand, from marketing to designs. I love the drop they did in October 2023.
Some people thought it was wrong of Clint to take advantage of small designers. What do you think about that?
What Clint is doing is genius marketing. Everyone who participated knew that their designs would inspire Clint. That’s not stealing. And most of the good designs got some recognition because of his retweets, so they’re benefiting too. It’s an opportunity for any good designer. You can try or you can complain. It’s up to you.
Did you get a chance to speak with Clint? Did he give you any advice?
I spoke to Clint on X, not for long though. Clint is a busy man and I understand that. What he has done is already enough.
What do you plan to do with the money?
I’m definitely investing that money into growing my business.
I saw you say you are going to design a free collection for a small brand. Do you do this often?
I don’t really design for free, but I thought I’d do this to give back after all that support that I got.
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