Malaysian singing sensation Aina Abdul, appearing to be wearing a sleeping bag, woke up the dismay of her alert fans

Similarly padded. Left, Viktor and Rolf’s bedding-as-fashion. Photo: Marcio Madeira. Right, Aina Abdul in Masyadi Mansoor’s sleeping bag. Photo: ainaabdul/Instagram

It is likely conceived as an Instagram bait, and many fell for it. Malaysian pop star Aina Abdul (top right) recently wore what seemed to be a fancy sleeping bag on an episode of the singing competition Big Stage (she’s a judge on the show). Ms Abdul is known for wearing massive clothes for her performances, but she has not been seen encased in a padded baju that not only made her appear to have come straight from some camp site on Brinchang Mountain, the undulating stripes of the garment could suggest the many layers of the mattress in Princess and the Pea, augmenting the visual effect of a ranjang (bed). The outfit came attached with a travel pillow large enough to cushion her scarved head.

Her fans (and not) are unimpressed with her tilam kutior (mattress couture). Netizens haven been up in arms, telling her to “berhenti berpakaian begitu pelik (stop dressing so weirdly)”. There is, of course, nothing really that strange about Ms Abdul’s stage costume, except that in the heat Malaysia and our island state share, it is curious that anyone would want to be togged like an Eskimo on New Year’s day in Alaska. In fact, the idea behind Ms Abdul’s floor-length cover-all is not new. We remember the autumn/winter 2005—musim luruh/sejuk!—ready-to-wear collection of Viktor & Rolf, inspired by bedclothes, but ended with models seemingly wearing the bed. But there is an artfulness to the duo’s madness. On one look (above left), the Euro-shams on which the model’s head ‘laid’ stayed up and the duvet which became the coat had what seemed like the top sheet cleverly folded over the quilt, like a skewed fichu.

There is nothing really that strange about Ms Abdul’s stage costume, except that in the heat Malaysia and our island state share, it is curious that anyone would want to be togged like an Eskimo on New Year’s day in Alaska

Aina Abdul’s pakaian pentas (stage fashion) is designed by relative newcomer Masyadi Mansoor whose fledgling label MSYD is about three years old. Mr Mansoor, a 2020 graduate of Universiti Teknologi Mara, is partial to padded garments, and has professed to love Moncler. That he would clothe Ms Abdul in a duvet with a bantal (pillow) to frame her head is, therefore, unsurprising, but that she looked like she picked her outfit from Decathlon is perhaps more amusing than incensing. The designer, in a reaction to the outrage over his design on Instagram, theorised that ”people experience a variety of emotions, ranging from some of the happiest and most euphoric feelings to some of the greatest anxieties and deepest sorrows. At the end of the day, the bed is the place we let it all out.”

And on stage, too. Aina Abdul, usually a strong supporter of Behati’s equally exaggerated style, shares the same perasaan (feeling). She told Yahoo News: “I chose that wardrobe to fit the theme, which is the turbulence of feelings. I thought the image will earn some entertaining comments since I have worn something even bigger and baggier than that.” Bigger, as many know, is not necessarily better, nor modest. But the “entertaining comments” did appear, although some bordered on the clearly unkind. She said, “Aside from face shaming, some Netizens even wanted to boycott me because of my style when I have spent thousands to maintain my looks as a celebrity.” There is considerable expense beneath the duvet. Spurn not the mattress maju (progress).