Staggeringly, one of the patient shoppers was in line for 17 hours!

The ‘Chroma’ bags by Malaysian brand Brïk. Photo: ByBrïk

Hype, as it is widely known, can turn something like a nondescript bag into something utterly desirable, so much so that there would be those who would queue way over the duration of regular working hours to get their hands on one, or maybe four. This was what unfolded over the weekend in Kuala Lumpur. Local handbag brand Brïk had set up a three-day pop-up at Semua House in the heart of KL and some fans of the brand had to stay in line overnight to score the bag they desired. One of them shared her experience on TikTok: User @_ameeraalissha arrived at the retail venue at 10.47am and was met with a queue; she was not aware that there was a long way to go. She even commented: “tak ramai lagi (not crowded yet).” The line had, in fact, snaked to the upper floors. By the time she bought her bags, it was 3.37 the next morning. It took her the equivalent of the flight time from Kuala Lumpur to Los Angeles (direct) to score the bags so many women seemed desperate to own.

It is not clear why so many were determined to get those Brïk (also spelled Brik) bags, believed to be the style Chroma. On the brand’s website, the Chroma bags are now all sold out. One Thread user said that “it looks pretty nice. Better than LV.” We are not so sure of that. To be honest, we have never seen any of the Brïk bags up close, but the brand’s own images allowed us to determine that the bags, which Malaysian media ardently described as “designer”, are nowhere near even the cheapest Louis Vuitton. Still, “designer-looking” is probably good enough. But the prices could be the Brïk’s biggest lure. The Chroma is priced between RM209 (about S$63) and RM279 (about $84). The bags are mostly in “100% polyurethane (PU)” except those iterations that are in coloured denim (the brand calls it “grunge denim” and does not say if they are 100% cotton). For the pop-up, “special colours” were available, which could have been the crowd-pulling snare.

Syakira (left) and Sabrina Ridzal of Brïk. Screen shot: syakiradzl/Instagram

Brïk was launched in 2023 in Kuala Lumpur by sisters Sabrina and Syakira Ridzal. The brand’s one-syllable, four-letter moniker (which reminds us of Vivy Yusof’s Duck) is a conflation of their nicknames Bri and Kira (which may explain the diacritic of the ‘ï’, suggesting two of them). Older sibling Ms Sabrina is said to be in the business of social media marketing and co-created Brïk as a “side hussle”, local media quoted her. This could explain the brand’s heavy use of social media stars, including themselves, to market their wares, which has led many to categorise Brïk as an “influencer brand”. The bags are, as Ms Sabrina described them, “retro—(they) brings back the old times”. Even their mothers like the bags for the past they evoke rather then their functionality. The most popular style is the Chroma, a trapezoidal bag with a flat oblong base, zip top, and a flap above that, fastened with a circular magnetic closure.

When the bags were first made available in late September 2023, ninety pieces were sold on the first day of launch. The sisters had expected 20 to move. It continued to perform better, and sold out with each drop (the brand does not say how many pieces are available in each run). Apart from the pocket-friendly prices, much of its quick success could be attributable to the Ridzals’ embrace of colour (with fancy names, such as Wild Sage and Macchiato), made more intense by the use of patented PU uppers that are considered “expensive looking” due to how berkilat (shiny) they are. Or, as the magazine Glam described, “efek glossy”. Their customers are clearly impressed with and love the selection of warna (colours) available even if they are not synonymous with, say, Pantone’s Colour of the Year. The market that Brïk targets, in that way, is similar to that of Duck’s: those who are drawn to the vivid, especially the shades and styles perceived to be influencer-approved.

The Ridzal sisters looking tense at 8pm last Saturday. Screen shot: @_ameeraalissha/TikTok

The queue was still slow to move at 1.41am, Sunday morning. Screen shot: @_ameeraalissha/TikTok

Their target audience, according to Ms Sabrina, is wide: “between 18 to 55”. But those who thronged Semua House—a reborn old shopping centre along Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman that recalls the RXPKL (former Rex Cinema) on Jalan Sultan in Kuala Lumpur’s Chinatown—seemed to veer closer to the younger of the age band. As Malaysian Netizens noted, it is the young who can be bothered to queue for more than ten hours to score something that is, at best, inane. These days, it is not design value that grips, but bragging rights that cajole. Those who were willing to wait would think about the experience later with smug satisfaction, such as @_ameeraalissha, who did not give the impression that what she went through was an ordeal. It is not clear how the entire episode would enhance Brïk’s reputation, or brand strength. Surely, making anyone stay in line for more than half a day was hardly good customer service.

The queue inside Semua House on Saturday was not entirely quiet and tension-free. There were reportedly some 700 shoppers who showed up. Things came to a boil when staffers told the waiting crowd in the evening to go home and return the next day (queue numbers offered did not improve the traffic flow). This was the final affront. In other videos, shouting can be heard. Security was called in. Both Sabrina and Syakira Ridzal were reportedly at the event. One video showed the elder sister Ms Sabrina holding a microphone. But it is not certain if she addressed the crowd. In the end, those who were persistent were allowed to continue queueing till they got their turn to buy the bags. It is not also known if anyone was in line after 3.37am, when @_ameeraalissha finally secured hers—four of them, which was the quota given to each shopper. The Ridzals have not issued a statement in response to the online outrage and attendant media reports. Could this be, as their marketing tagline for the event goes, “Love Reimagined”? On their socials, it appears to be business as usual. Warna apa seterusnya, what colour next?