WHILE there are countless Malaysia-themed T-shirts available in the market, speciality gift and apparel boutique Journ3y Malaysia decided to try something different.
Journ3y Malaysia’s purpose is to make premium T-shirts with the highest grade cotton, and most importantly, a unique and original design which tells the story of Malaysia.
The brand focuses on creating a design that has meaning to Malaysians instead of just printing images of iconic landmarks.
The brand’s T-shirts designs burst with vibrant colours and are eye-catching. Currently, the brand has two collections with different concepts: Collage and Illustration.
Under Collage, a colourful collection of flora and fauna, tropical forests, native animals like Malayan tiger and tapir, and popular food and beverages are assembled to create a quirky collage artwork design.
Meanwhile, the Illustration collection is inspired by local artisans and features images of historic and cultural heritage, as well as iconic modern and traditional architecture.
Behind the brand
Three friends cum partners, Amirul Aliff, 31, Muhaimin Dato Mansor, 32, and Nizal Mokhtar, 37, met while at the Multimedia University (MMU), Malacca, more than ten years ago.
After graduating in 2013, the three kept in touch and often brought back T-shirts or keychains as souvenirs from overseas as gifts for each other.
However, during the MCO, they were not able to travel anywhere and this sparked the idea to create their own T-shirts.
“We missed travelling. So, we thought – what if we set up an apparel brand and start making our own t-shirts just like the ones we love to bring back to Malaysia as souvenirs?” said Amirul, who also heads the creative department.
They did not want to copy something readily available in the market, but decided to venture into something new and distinctively different.
“First, we started finding out what was lacking in the industry. We realised that there were many t-shirt (companies) but none that focused on the quality of the fabric,” said Amirul.
Thus, they started Journ3y in September 2020 with the aim to promote the country in the simplest way, by creating attractive T-shirts highlighting the beauty of Malaysia to the world.
The company based in Shah Alam began to operate fully a year later. Currently, they sell their products online at www.journ3y.my.
Uniquely different
During their research, Amirul had noticed that Malaysia-themed t-shirts are never the first choice of souvenirs for foreigners, including for some local tourists.
“When I visited Langkawi, I noticed foreign tourists did not [buy souvenir t-shirts] due to the low quality,” revealed Amirul, who also admits that he also doesn’t buy such t-shirts for the same reason.
He reasoned he was disappointed after buying some local t-shirts as he could only wear them a few times before the colour faded and the fabric loosened.
In the end, he could only wear them at home.
In fact, in most tourists spots in Malaysia, traders sell the same t-shirts, with no original or creative designs.
Sometimes, a specific design is only available at a particular location and it makes the tourists feel privileged to get one for themselves or for their loved ones.
Apart from quality, Amirul also realised that local people do not feel a sense of pride to wear Malaysia-themed t-shirts.
“Malaysians are proud to wear t-shirts from other countries but we are just not that proud of locally made t-shirts. We will proudly wear ‘I Love Sydney’ or Japan-made clothing but when comes to local, not many would want to wear it.
“As such, as a brand, we want to make Malaysians feel proud and satisfied with the fabric and with the different designs,” said Amirul.
Hence, in Journ3y Amirul came up with various design ideas and collaborated with two local artists, Myra Amyn and Shazana Ibrahim.
The two would draw or add their own unique touch based on their own creative interpretation.
“We want to tell a story in our t-shirt, which will make others feel proud to wear. A memory to wear on the body.
“We want the tourists to remember Malaysia through our T-shirts, our beautiful and and colourful culture. Besides, we want to support our local artists and photographers in the process.”
Beautiful land
A patriot at heart, Amirul said there are many things about Malaysia worth sharing with the world. “We are not just famous for our food, we have art and culture, opera, Wayang Kulit and so on.”
“Flowers like bunga kertas (bougainvilla) commonly grow in abundance. We can spot bunga kertas everywhere. People love to plant it, and we have included it in one of our designs.”
Speaking about our country, he said: “We live together in a multi-cultural and diverse ethnic nation. It’s a huge loss if we don’t show it to the world.
“Our culture is very valuable and one that we would not find in any other country.”
Comfortable cotton
The t-shirts are also made using high quality, 100% cotton, natural, suitable for any t-shirt enthusiasts to wear without any fear of allergies.
“Our biggest concern was how to make our t-shirts different from others. So, we did our research on the type of cotton available in the market and we picked the best – Journ3y’s PIM-T cotton – as it was the highest grade cotton PIMA cotton and it has so many advantages,” said Amirul.
“Our cotton is an extra-long staple variety with longer fibre than regular cotton and it’s extremely soft and durable. The cotton is hypoallergenic, has a higher absorbency level, is breathable and hardly ever pills. This makes the garment long-lasting,” he said.
He explained that PIM-T can be worn for a long span of time compared to clothing made with regular cotton.
Besides, planting this particular type of cotton plant saves water.
“We import the raw cotton from US and we will steam and yarn the fabric, before shipping it to the tailor to sew locally,” said Amirul, who supports eco-friendly clothing.
The team has plans to expand into making men’s shirts, polo shirts and blouses for women, apart from postcards.
“Our t-shirts are a piece of hard work, a meaningful gift for you and for your loved ones,” added Amirul.
