Paris Olympics 2024: Malaysia agrees to redesign official kit after widespread ridicule
Malaysian officials agreed Friday to redesign some of the country's kit for next month's Paris Olympics after the outfits were widely panned as "cheap-looking" and "embarrassing".
Chef de mission Hamidin Mohamad Amin said they have "decided to improve the existing design".
"After taking into consideration and feedback from all parties, including the Ministry of Youth and Sports, the National Sports Council and national sports fans, the Olympic council acknowledges that the design of the official jacket was not well received," he said.
Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team.
Designers and a former Olympian joined the cacophony of social media criticism that greeted the country's official kit after it was first unveiled, with many expressing dismay at the "ugly" designs and others rating the collection as adequate for a school "sports day" but not the greatest show on earth.
The Southeast Asian nation first unveiled its Olympics outfits on Sunday with the Yonex Sunrise Malaysia-designed black and gold theme - inspired by tiger stripes - intended to symbolise the nation's pursuit of an elusive first Olympic gold medal.
The casual collection included tracksuits, polo shirts, and T-shirts.
But scorn swiftly followed the launch across Malaysia's social media.
"We are going to the Olympics ... we want to promote Malaysia in the eyes of the world ... it's embarrassing to have a design that looks like a school kid's emergency outfit," Aliff Shanusi lamented on X.
"Please, there's still time to change. This looks like it was designed using Microsoft Paint from Parameswara's era," Januar Haikal added, also on X, referring to the attire.
Another called the uniform "ugly" and questioned why Malaysia's wide pool of talented designers were not brought into the design process.
Retired Malaysian track cyclist and three-time Olympian Josiah Ng Onn Lam chimed in at what he says is a routine fail when it comes to getting the designs right for competition.
"I've competed at 3 Olympics for Malaysia and there is a reason I didn't keep any of our outfits as a souvenir," he wrote on Instagram.
On Tuesday, Chef de Mission Hamidin defended the kits and chastised the public for focusing on appearances rather than athletic performance.
"The aesthetic appeal of Malaysia's official jersey for the 2024 Paris Olympics will lose its importance unless the team secures Malaysia's first gold medal in Paris," he told reporters in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday.
"With 31 days left until the Olympics, the media and fans need to support our athletes, not question small things like this. There is no point having nice attire but not winning gold."
But a day later, the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) was reportedly moved to consider revamping the collection for competing athletes with sports equipment giant Yonex. According to a source quoted by Timesport, Yonex will create exclusive attire specifically for the 25 athletes taking part in the Paris Games.
The new designs are expected to be unveiled in the coming weeks.
Malaysian graphic designers also joined in the bashing of the original outfit designs, sharing their professional critiques.
"Some of them are really nice, cool, and modern-looking, but others seem poorly designed, lacking any aesthetic appeal or care," said Issal Prakash, a 27-year-old graphic design associate.
"The good ones stand out, but the bad ones look like they were made by a school student for their sports day," she said.
Some were unequivocal in their criticism, while others expressed utter dismay.
"It's a disappointment for us designers to see that the attire of our Malaysian contingent for the Olympics is being ridiculed by the people," said Atiiq Azman, another graphic designer.
"As we know, our attire represents our country, especially on such a big stage as the Olympic Games. As a graphic designer myself, it is our duty to raise up the arts and design standards of our country," he added.
The dissatisfaction extended beyond the local community, drawing comments from international observers including Australian TikTok content creator Bee Jamieson who sniped that "the uniform itself looks like it's a PE uniform for a public school".
It is not the first time Malaysia's Olympic attire has faced public scrutiny. In 2012, outfits for the London Olympics also received mixed reactions, with some criticising the tiger-inspired designs.
About 10,500 athletes from more than 200 nations will compete in the Paris Olympics that begin on July 26.
With additional reporting from Agence France-Presse
This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP).
Copyright (c) 2024. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
