Izzuddin Shah bin Mohamed Nor, 25 • Indie Fashion Marketer

Izzuddin Shah otherwise known as Dayn has made quite an impression on the indie scene within the past few years. Unlike his cohorts who started out in T-shirt collectives, Dayn has built a full-fledged business out of one simple idea - ‘I Heart KL’.

Two years ago, you’d most likely find Dayn out on the sidewalks of Bukit Bintang where he would diligently sell bundles of ‘I Heart KL’ T-shirts for extra pocket money while still studying business economics at university. Nowadays, you need to either pre-order his T-shirts or show up really early to indie shopping bazaars because it’s a known fact that Dayn’s T-shirts can sell out within minutes of him opening his booth.

Enthusiastic and driven to make his brand a success; Dayn’s main focus is to build on the ‘I Heart KL’ brand through a range of apparel utilizing that one iconic design. “There’s a certain fulfillment when you see people wearing your stuff. It’s being able to unite the youth and general public through their collective affection towards KL by selling T-shirts and wearing it. The message [‘I Heart KL’] is clear. It’s a commitment people make when they wear the T-shirt in public,” he explains.

While many international bands like Samson, Incubus and Switchfoot have been photographed wearing Dayn’s T-shirts; he insists that it’s more satisfying seeing Malaysian bands wearing it, saying “it means more when local bands wear my T-shirts because we see the good and bad sides of KL but we love it regardless”. If savvy marketing were a game, Dayn would be champion.

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