Shopee MY's creative lead gives patriotic fashion a makeover with Merdeka-themed clothing series

Shopee Malaysia's Merdeka-themed creative contest has resulted in some interesting designs from its employees, who were tasked by the HR team to creatively incorporate the four colours of the Malaysian flag in their submissions. Among those who participated was creative lead Aaron Wong, who thought "What if Shopee was a fashion brand and it had to design a Merdeka clothing series?" 

"I joined the contest for fun because the day before the submission, I had a sudden inspiration of doing a Merdeka-themed fashion series and thought it would be nice as a concept if it could actually be produced one day for people to wear," Wong told A+M. According to him, the project was one that was close to his heart as a Malaysian. He added that sometimes, people might perceive Merdeka-themed fashion as a cliche but Wong knew that did not have to be the case. He wanted to challenge the perception by creating something modern, sleek and fashionable - something the younger generation would really want to wear.

"The sketching took me about one to two hours to complete using Photoshop on a Wacom tablet. This was excluding the research on fashion illustration that I did for about an hour. It was the thinking that took longer, about a whole day to arrive at what the clothing should look like. How would the stripes and symbols from the Malaysian flag look cool in the design? And how would the design be appealing to both male and female fashionistas?" Wong explained.

He wanted to show that patriotic designs can be cool and decided to create something he would be proud to wear if given a chance to bring it to life. "I hope to inspire more young creative people around the country to take a chance to create and show the world that Malaysian designs and ideas can look cool and nice," he said.

Meanwhile, Shopee Malaysia's associate, marketing (social media) Faiz Muhamad also portrayed the root colours of Malaysia with a blend of multicultural diversity through tie-dye. According to a LinkedIn post, Faiz explained that in its darkest time, the colours will shine brighter together. He explored a couple of techniques to create an acid splash effect on the t-shirt and a zig-zag texture. A+M has reached out to Shopee for comment on the initiative.

Malaysia is celebrating her 64th independence day this year. According to Bernama, this year's 2021 National Day celebration will be based on the mixed reality concept which combines physical presentation with AR and extended reality, in line with the strict standard operating procedures as a result of the pandemic. Information Department director-general Mohd Sukari Ab Hamid said the use of these technologies will give viewers the impression as if they are watching the performances on site.

He also urged Malaysians to remain at home and watch the celebration live on all local TV stations as well as Facebook Live via Facebook Live Merdeka360 and Facebook Live Ministry of Communications and Multimedia Malaysia, Bernama added.

A+M's Asia eCommerce Awards recognises and rewards excellence for brands, eRetailers and agencies in their eCommerce efforts across Asia. Join our Asia eCommerce Awards 2021 to showcase your work and inspire the industry. Click here to register today! 

Photo courtesy: Wong's Behance and Faiz's LinkedIn pages

Related articles:
Jacob's puts spin to iconic patriotic song to get Malaysians moving ahead of Merdeka Day
Merdeka Day roundup: Brands push for positivity and hope amidst challenging times