"Low Effort & Outdated" — Malaysians Are Not Impressed By Official Olympics Attire Designs
The official attire was unveiled on Sunday, 23 June.
By May Vin Ang — 25 Jun 2024, 11:36 AM
The official attire for the Malaysian contingent bound for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris has drawn criticism on social media, with many Malaysians expressing their displeasure over its design
The Malaysian team's official attire was unveiled during an Olympic Day celebration at The Exchange TRX in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday, 23 June.
The outfits were also published by the Olympic Council of Malaysia on Instagram, announcing the symbolism behind the attire's design as well as thanking Yonex Sunrise Malaysia for the collaboration.
"The contingent will be outfitted from head to toe by Yonex Sunrise Malaysia with a gold themed attire to reflect Malaysia's relentless pursuit of the elusive gold medal at the Olympics," said the council.
"We thank Yonex Sunrise for the fruitful collaboration for the past four years. They have been outfitting our athletes and officials at various multi-sports games for the last two Olympic cycles and we look forward to Paris as the highlight of our cooperation," added council president Tan Sri Mohamad Norza Zakaria.
The attire, however, has only drawn disapproval from netizens since their release, with many calling the designs ugly and uninspiring
"Low effort design, cheap quality, embarrassing presentation. Is this going to represent Malaysia on the world stage? As a Malaysian fashion creative, this is beyond insulting," commented an Instagram user.
"The designs are already ugly, but they showcased them on mannequins. Hire models! This has only made the designs two times uglier," said another Instagram user.
"It's so sad and frustrating to see our own country not placing any importance on arts and design in building our identity as a nation," said another disappointed netizen.
An X user added, "Horrible design. Horrible presentation. Even the mannequins look malnourished. The entire rollout makes Malaysia look like a nation in decline."
Some netizens begged the council to make completely new designs.
"Please, there's still time to change it. These look like they were designed by someone on Microsoft Paint from the age of Parameswara," commented an X user.
Meanwhile, others said the unveiling of Malaysia's Olympics official attire utterly paled in comparison to other countries.
Following the backlash, Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh took to X, stating that the official attire for the Malaysian contingent to the Olympics comes under the purview of the Olympic Council of Malaysia
"It was a collaboration between Yonex and the Olympic Council of Malaysia, and it is outside the jurisdiction of the Youth and Sports Ministry and the National Sports Council," she said on X.
Despite the negative feedback, there has been no announcement by the Olympic Council of Malaysia regarding a redesign of the attire.
The 2024 Paris Olympics will officially begin next month, on 26 July.
