'Fiercer' Paris Olympics attire for M'sia unveiled after ex-design derided as ugly & cheap-looking

It's back and fiercer than ever—Malaysia's revamped Paris Olympics attire was revealed by the Olympic Council Malaysia (OCM) on Jul. 2, 2024.

The announcement came after the initial official gold-themed attire, meant to symbolise Malaysia's pursuit of its first Olympic gold medal, was met with public backlash.

Design symbolises the tiger spirit

The new design features a black colour base with clearer and larger yellow tiger stripes on the front and back of the jacket.

"OCM feels that this new design symbolises the tiger spirit, which has become the identity of the Malaysian Contingent since it was first introduced at the Manila SEA Games in 2005," said the governing body in its press release.

OCM said it hopes that the attire's brighter pattern and motif will not only highlight the identity and uniformity of the contingent but more importantly symbolise strength, dexterity, and courage to fight in the name of the country.

The committee also added the OCM logo in the Jalur Gemilang (Stripes of Glory on the Malaysian flag) colour on the gold-collared shirts as a sign of respect for the country's flag.

OCM also said it received permission from the sponsors of Yonex Sunrise Malaysia to not display the Yonex or YY logos on both jackets and T-shirts.

This was due to time factors, OCM said, as printing and supplying these official garments required an agreement process with the manufacturer as part of the brand's standard operating procedure.

Previous design compared to "school-level" attire

The previous design for Malaysia's Paris Olympics attire, revealed on Jun. 23, was met with much public backlash.

Following the announcement, commenters flocked to social media to criticise the design as uninspiring, simple, and bland, with a user comparing it to "school-level" attire.

Others shared AI-generated designs to show how they felt the outcome could have been executed better.

In a statement released on Jun. 28, OCM president Norza Zakaria acknowledged the confusion and discontent caused by the design.

Noting that "the design was not well-received", Norza said OCM "takes full responsibility for this oversight" and will improve the existing design.

Top image via OCM website