Pronunciation: soof-jan
Sufjan, what an interesting name! So, let’s start a little bit with the name. The name Sufjan comes from the founders’ beloved kiddo, Naqeeb Sufjan! The name carries a powerful meaning – to be a leader and brave one! Who’s Naqeeb Sufjan’s parents? These 2 power rangers are Ana and Megat. While Ana focuses on designing the exquisite clothing and handling sales, Megat on the other hand doing his excellent job working on the marketing. Great teamwork, huh?
Without them realizing, it has been a thriving 5 years for Sufjan.co as they were established in the year of 2014! And psstt, they are based in Ipoh! Of course, without doubt, there were (and are) ups and downs, that’s pretty normal. What makes it more compelling is that, Sufjan.co was first just a we-do-it-for-fun thing. Doing what we like, of course the fun is there, kan? Sufjan.co is one of their mediums to express their creativity without boundaries and hesitations.
“We do what we love!”– Ana
You see, Sufjan.co started small as a self-love project, most of their buyers when they first started were their close friends and even them the founders too. According to Ana, what really caught her back then was that, her friends and acquaintances had always keen on her clothing – where did she buy, what brand and lot more questions. With humble heart, Ana started spilling the tea about Sufjan.co.
Year later, they realized they should do something more for Sufjan.co. They started to focus on the real deal – what type of fashion, who’s the target market, what color theme and whatnot.
Sufjan.co has no specific inspiration in starting their brand. The idea of sharing what they love to wear and see that actually triggered them to start Sufjan.co. Besides, there were merely brands or shops that sell minimal concept of clothing back then. So they buckled up and here they are! Who knew they could make it till today?
Sufjan.co concept is, without doubt, minimal + modest fashion. A combination of Asian and Western preferences, Sufjan.co tries to bring out the best in their apparel that makes the wearer feels comfortable and stunning at the same time. And not to mention their super affordable prices. What a brilliant!
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During 5 years of thrilling journey, Sufjan.co has managed to released 6 collections! Remember how Sufjan.co was just a we-do-it-for-fun thing? This was it. This is the first collection – JANFROMSUFJANCO. This collection combines lots of stunning colors and colorful emotions for women – who are edgy enough to don it anywhere. The fabrics used are linen and lycra. Take it as for just the top or dress, there must be something for you.
When Sufjan.co decided to really focuses on doing it for real, this is the first premium collection – BLACKANDWHITEPALLETE. This collection is basically genderless. Black represents men while white represents women. Both colors collide into a palette and transforms into one apparel that both genders can wear with style.
ETHEREALPEACE is the second collection by Sufjan.co. This collection basically wants you to feel naked wearing full-outfit. Sounds absurd? Yes. And dazzling! They absolutely do know Malaysia’s weather! Simplicity is precisely their main point in designing. This collection is quite a sentimental piece for Sufjan.co. It is a blended affair of negative feeling with such ravishing feeling inside it. Such a divine kind of peace. Death-or-glory. Love. To put it in an illustration, it is like you have been tested with test after test after test, but you have managed to survived them all, not knowing how. Inspired by Japanese clothing, Sufjan.co put their soul into this collection.
Additional fun info, Sufjan.co with such courage and creativity – they did art performance during Ipoh Revisited 2018 photography exhibition event by Peoplesiris. I saw the performance, it was a great one!
Third collection of Sufjan.co is IKIGAIRAYA. Ikigai (生きがい) means ‘reason to live’. Ikigai is what gets you up every morning and keep you going. For Sufjan.co, happiness is really the first word that comes to their mind when they think of ikigai. For Sufjan.co, there is no absolute other reason for them to live but their family. Happiness is nothing when you can’t share it with the people you love the most, according to the founders. This collection is designed for Hari Raya Aidil Fitri. This time, the collection is full set from heaven – from toddler to adultsize. There must be one for you, at least. He is a man? She is a woman? Not a problem at all. They design it so both ‘he’ and ‘she’ can wear it. The collection is realistic and shipshape. Mix it all you want. Tidy move!
Moving on, the fourth collection. Sufjan.co’s marvelous fourth collection is inspired by Norwegian + English locutions – FORELSKETMYSTERIUM. Forelsket describes the feeling when we fall in love. Mysterium is mystery. According to Sufjan.co, and we could all agree on it, deep down in our heart/mind – we are all animals, selfish, monstrous when it comes to self-value and dependency. We tend to lessen our ego and let love do the work when we found our love/soul mate/friends/companions/etc. This is the kind of mystery when it comes to love (feelings). It somehow organizes and manages our mind, heart, soul and life all together, thus creating a harmonize philanthropy.
THEVTHPROJECT (read: the-fifth-project) of Sufjan.co reminisces the 5 important colors of Goshiki (info: Goshiki is a type of koi fish). The five colors are white, black, red, green and yellow. Each color represents their own meaning significantly. As for this collection, Sufjan.co focuses on black – which represents the element of space and void. For Sufjan.co, they unanimously believed that when they think of space, it would be dark and sinister. They would imagine seeing something eerie and mysterious. So dark yet they still could find pureness lies within, longing for them to follow and understand. In this collection, Sufjan.co makes up garments that ghastly enough in the eyes of a common, but a gem to those who are unique – born to be fierce and different from the others.
Instagram: @sufjan.co