'Muslim-friendly' slippers from Malaysian celebrity Neelofa and footwear brand collab draws criticism
PHOTO: Instagram/neelofa
PUBLISHED ONApril 08, 2021 9:08 AMByMohammed Zakaria
Celebrity entrepreneur Neelofa from Malaysia has received online flak for launching her new $26 slippers, marketed as 'Muslim-friendly', with footwear brand Fipper.
During the launch on April 5 posted on Instagram Stories, the 32-year-old whose real name is Noor Neelofa Mohd Noor, presented the slippers as being lightweight, with soft-protection, and 'Muslim-friendly' which raised a few eyebrows on social media.
At RM 79.90 (S$26), this pair of slippers – in Magenta Violet, Pink Plum and Violet – are priced higher than Fipper's other array of items on their website.
[embed]https://www.facebook.com/fipperslipper/posts/10158304723296680[/embed]
The Malaysian footwear brand has since issued a statement on Facebook which said all its previous footwear products do not fit the image of a Muslim woman who wears socks, which is recommended in the religion during prayer.
It also clarified that the slippers are suitable for Muslim women who wear socks, and also those who want to wear slippers at the same time. The brand apologised for any confusion it caused.
Some netizens highlighted the marketing gimmick from this entire collaboration as a way to get consumers to buy the footwear.
Even though this incident happened only a few days ago, myBurgerlab was quick to ride on this trending topic of the 'Muslim-friendly' slipper.
[embed]https://www.facebook.com/myBurgerLab/posts/4262502107095155[/embed]
As reported in Advertising + Marketing, MyBurgerLab's co-founder Chin Renyi said the team thought it was funny to poke fun at the slipper, a topic that has been trending recently.