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Friday, June 28, 2024

Across The Causeway: “Ugly” Olympic Kit

Malaysians were not the least impressed with their nation's uniform for the upcoming Paris Olympics. Their disapproval was surprisingly strident Malaysian's big dismay: their nation's Olympic kit this year. Photo: AFP The tiger did not …
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Across The Causeway: "Ugly" Olympic Kit

By Style On The Dot on 26/06/2024

Malaysians were not the least impressed with their nation's uniform for the upcoming Paris Olympics. Their disapproval was surprisingly strident

Malaysian's big dismay: their nation's Olympic kit this year. Photo: AFP

The tiger did not claw back even when Malaysia's Olympic fesyen for this year's games in Paris was severely bashed. Inspired by the harimau (tiger), the full set of what their athletes would wear inspired no confidence in how gaya (stylish) their compatriots would look on the world stage. The Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) had initially defended the designs of the kit their athletes is expected to use in the French Capital next month. Its secretary-general Datuk Nazifuddin Najib had initially insisted that the performance wear for their olahragawan Olimpik (Olympic athletes) was "developed with modern design concepts after discussions between the council and sponsors, considering factors including cost limitations", according to the New Straits Times. But fans and supporters were not convinced. Online response was in perfect accord: burok (ugly)!

It is not known what the nation's Olympic chiefs consider modern, but Netizens were adamant that it was not what appeared in a regrettable presentation to the media days ago. Revealed at the new upmarket mall, The Exchange TRX in downtown Kualar Lumpur, the show's provincial production shocked Malaysians. The clothes appeared on mannequins that looked like that had come from The Globe Silk Store in Brickfields in the '70s, with unflattering, unstyled wigs to match. The mannequins were at first crudely wrapped in black cloths before the fabrics were unfurled after a countdown to show the unimpressive Olympic wear. Reportedly, organiser of the unveiling, MY Creative Moments, apologised for the low-brow event. Their managing director Wong Kang Woon (王康汶), through a statement, said: "We acknowledge our shortcomings and take responsibility for any flaws in the management and organisation of the event."

Before the big reveal. Photo: olympiccouncilofmalaysia/Facebook

According to press reports, the athlete's uniforms were conceived in collaboration with the Japanese label Yonex, the official sports supplier to Malaysia's athletes through the brand's Malaysian division Yonex Sunrise. It is debatable if Yonex, mostly associated with badminton, makes stylish sports performance wear, as, say, Nike does, but it is not unreasonable to expect more for an event that puts all participating nations in the spotlight on what is the world biggest and most-watched runway. Yonex's answer to Malaysia's sports style is based on tiger stripes in gold, which are supposed to symbolise the country's deep desire to score their first Olympic gold medal. Unfortunately, the stripes of the tiger and the juvenile graphical components are not winning looks, and appear as if they have been applied on existing and dated Yonex stocks, rather than on garments designed specifically for the Olympics.

It is not immediately clear why the black-and-gold designs of dubious inspirasi were approved, but it is possible that they met the open-to-intepretation "cost limitations". Three-time Olympian, track cyclist Josiah Ng Onn Lam (伍安临), did not hold back when he shared on Instagram, following the nation-wide scorn: "I've competed at 3 Olympics for Malaysia and there is a reason I didn't keep any of our outfits as a souvenir (the post has been removed)." Following the uproar, it is reported that Olympics officials is considering redesigning some pieces of the kit, but no mention of a new creative charge. Or, moving ahead with a less prosaic mind. Is it not often said that tigers do not change their stripes?

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