When one generally talks about streetwear geographically in Malaysia, generally everyone thinks about Kuala Lumpur, where you can find most of the bulk of streetwear stores. But in this feature story, we traveled all the way down to Bangi, a satellite town approximately 30km down south of KL city centre to have a chat with Suhaimi Abdullah, mostly known as just ‘Mie’, the owner of RARE Distro to ask him a few questions about his business and also about our streetwear culture.
How did the name ‘RARE’ came about?
Back then, when streetwear was just starting to get big, the usual slang around streetwear enthusiast would be “Ah man, that sh*t is so RARE!” when they see someone wearing anything limited edition they would ask ” where’d you get that? it’s so RARE’. So the name RARE at that time was something so natural to me.
What were you doing before you decided to open your shop?
I studied accounting when I was in college/uni and after I graduated I worked as a government servant in the Ministry of Home Affairs in the Human Resource Department for 5 years.
Of all places, why Bangi?
1st off, I live in Kajang, so Bangi is near to where I stay. Bangi has a good amount of residential areas and it is also near to Cyberjaya which has quite a number of colleges and universities. Secondly, I personally feel that Kuala Lumpur has too many competition. In Bangi, there isnt any other streetwear shops around except me. It is easy to shape the direction of the shop via the products that WE want to sell, not base on the customer or competition. Bangi is also very much more relaxed compared to KL, but most importantly it is near my house.
What is your take on the current streetwear scene in Malaysia?
I feel there is generally 2 different type of groups in the streetwear scene in Malaysia, one of it is the collectors, hardcore collectors type. I would say this people are very based on the ‘hype’ and whats the latest and how they style themselves and dress up is base on how hype they are and what brand they rep. Another group is the ‘basic-everyday’ kinda people. They base their style on how comfortable they feel. Cutting of the clothes, the look more than the brand. So there is 2 extremes to it, and that extreme is causing a split. I feel in our scene right now, there are some people who are too critical on how streetwear should be, how people should dress and what kinda brands they should wear.
There is no set rules to how streetwear should be, as long as it looks good and feels good then it is a go. We should start asking ourselves this question ‘ To impress others or to impress yourself?’ only then the scene in Malaysia would be a much healthier scene.
Where do you think the scene will be heading to?
I feel that Malaysia’s streetwear scene will have a new empire and will be a reference for other countries in this region. We are very much influenced by the streetwear in US and Japan, and using that as a reference, we have manage to produce a lot of local brands that follow very closely to this 2 country’s streetwear trends and culture, and infused it with our own Malaysian culture. It is different from our neighbors such as Thailand and Indonesia which has their own style and trend, but because Malaysia’s style is very much influenced by US and Japan streetwear style, we have manage to stay in trend and also ahead in this region. The next level of Malaysia’s streetwear scene would be us invading the world streetwear scene. And for us to achieve that, we all have to communicate, share our knowledge with each other and respect one another.
Tolong or Saman?
Saman. Because most of the time ‘THEY’ would be lazy to saman anyway.
What would be your advice to anybody who is going into the Streetwear / Retail business?
Mentality. Must have the proper mentality. A lot of people have the misconception that you will need a lot of money to start up something in retail. You don’t really need a lot of money, all you need is the right mentality and to say that you want to do it, and you will just get up and do it. And don’t be afraid to start small. It’s okay to be small, in the beginning, no shame in that. From starting small you will eventually discover what works and what doesn’t and you will eventually go with the flow at the same time adjusting as you go.
Branding is also very important. Always sell your brand, and market it well. Whether it is a clothing label or just a shop, it is still a brand. Once your brand is known, things would be easier for you in terms of getting that exposure.
Don’t be an opportunist. Many people jump on the bandwagon too fast and forgo their initial branding and concept. For example, recently there was the whole LISTEN LISTEN LISTEN incident, if lets say I am an opportunist, I would quickly just come out with a t-shirt design that has something related to this, because everyone is doing it and it is the ‘IN’ thing now, but this has also caused my brand to run away from the initial concept of the brand. It is something that helps the brand only for the short-term period, but in the long run it won’t be healthy for the brand.
Last question, if you are able to go back in time, what is the one thing you would change in regards to RARE Distro and how you ran it?
The concept of RARE Distro and the RARE brand. I realize that I should have started our own clothing line much earlier.
