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Designer claims made RM2m from ‘Jubah Pahlawan’ after online ridicule
KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 29 ― The designer of “Jubah Pahlawan” (Warrior's Jubah) claimed he made RM2 million in revenue after pictures of muscular male models wearing the form-fitting robes went viral and drew scorn on social media.
Syubaili Aziz, founder of Farbel Exclusive, said he was unfazed by comments that called the male models gay or compared the brightly coloured robes ― in lime green and pink, among other colours ― to women’s clothing.
“I’ve sold over two million,” Syubaili told Malay Mail Online today in a phone interview. “And it’s only been a few days since it went viral three days ago on Friday”.
A post by Facebook user Rizal Hakimm ― who uploaded pictures of seven athletic-looking men in the “Jubah Pahlawan” in lime green, forest green, navy blue, pink, sky blue, red and yellow ― has had over 18,000 “shares” at the time of writing. One picture shows the models emerging from Cartier, an upmarket jewelry boutique, laden with shopping bags.
The advertising images have sparked cartoons, with one showing the muscular men in colourful swishing skirts and holding shopping bags, with the word Grindr, a dating app for gay men, in the background.
Syubaili, who is a distributor, said most of his sales of “Jubah Pahlawan”, which are priced at RM225, were to Brunei, Thailand, Singapore, Taiwan and Saudi Arabia. According to him, he made about RM2 million in revenue from selling 10,000 units of the garment at a discounted price of RM199 each.
He said 80 per cent of the sales were from businesses and claimed Malaysian VVIPs, including those with the “Tan Sri” title, as his customers.
The businessman also said buyers of “Jubah Pahlawan” included non-Muslims who bought the garments for visits during Muslim festivals.
“Actually, the products that we sell to customers are not tight; they’re very loose,” said Syubaili. “I didn’t expect the jubah to be so tight [on the models].”
According to Syubaili, “Jubah Pahlawan”, which he designed together with his wife Farrah, is meant to have a flattering cut so that it will look good even on large people.
“I smiled at the negative comments,” he said. “The publicity has boosted my business”.
One of the models of “Jubah Pahlawan”, Mustaqim Bahadon, said people have called him “gay” and “pondan” (effeminate), pointing out that his fellow models are married with children.
“Our earnings are as working people. Never mind, we are looking for halal earnings and God willing, God will work it out. If there is any wrong, that’s between us and Him,” Mustaqim wrote on his Instagram profile @mustaqimbahadon.
Editor’s note: This story has been amended to state that Syubaili’s claim was RM2 million in revenue instead of two million in sales.
- See more at: http://www.themalaymailonline.co ... thash.9zCD68jc.dpuf |
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Post time 29-2-2016 08:39 PM
Post time 29-2-2016 09:53 PM
