Customer approved clothing
View(s):By allowing fans to vote for their favourite designs online, Shrumz creates limited edition t-shirts that are ‘eye-catching and fresh’
Aadil Aziz began Shrumz selling t-shirts out of his car boot. The young entrepreneur always had a weakness for well designed, well-made clothes and when he couldn’t find t-shirts he wanted to wear in Sri Lanka, he decided to make them himself. Since then the brand seems to have taken off and has found rack space in outlets in not only Sri Lanka but in Malaysia and Dubai as well.
Today the team consists of two in house designers, pattern makers, QC managers and a few freelance designers who work to create multiple designs. Occasionally, Aadil will design a tee himself. The only requirement? That it “look dope.
” Their mushroom logo now appears on t-shirts with bold, bright designs, many of which are inspired by popular culture.
There’s the ‘Bazinga’ t-shirt that pays tribute to Sheldon Cooper on the T.V show The Big Bang Theory, another with the Joker from The Dark Knight and the Flintstones going for a ride; most are bear snarky one liners.
| The designs at Shrumz are picked by a panel of fashionistas through a vote out and some of the designs are directly sent in for production based on the most number of likes… |
“The designs at Shrumz are picked by a panel of fashionistas through a vote out and some of the designs are directly sent in to production based on the most number of likes it gets on our Facebook Fan Page,” says Aadil, adding, “what makes them so special is that we try to use special pigments, different printing styles and themes or messages in every design that is approved.” Only limited editions of each tee are produced.
Aadil is convinced that Shrumz has found its niche market. “It’s always been hard to get something eye catching and fresh in Colombo – as most of the best garments produced in Sri Lanka are exported to Europe and the Middle East. Sri Lankans undoubtedly love shopping when they go abroad – however have very few options when they need to get something for a quick fashion fix locally,” he says.
Aadil began Shrumz with a Bachelor’s degree in accounting from Victoria University and says he hopes to finish his Masters in Economics at a university in the U.S or Australia.
Other members of his team are following fashion designing/graphic designing courses. He’s been seeking advice from pioneers in the retail and manufacturing industry and sees his challenge as being to “dress the youth of Sri Lanka.”
Their tees fall into the price range of Rs.1,000 – Rs.1,350 and are sold in local stores like Steel Blue, Basics Life Store and FITZ in Colombo, Abstract Welisara in Negombo and Kandy.
They’re anticipating expanding their product line to include briefs, shorts, polos, skinnys, designer shirts and accessories and hope to have the new products on shelves by next year. For Aadil, the long term goal is clear. “The next step for Shrumz will be a flagship store in Colombo where the fans can indulge in quality garments without any compromise.”
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