Most of us might be ignorant of this, me included, but have you ever realized that our female muslim friends do not enjoy the same convenience of using earphones as most of us do? That’s due to the limitation of their hijab, which is the veil that covers their head and chest, also known as tudung in Malay.
Usually, what they need to do is to pull back part of their hijab and then put on the earphones, before covering the ears back again with their hijab. They have to uncomfortably slide their earphones either under their scarves or slide them from the portal for their faces to accommodate their earphones.
The same goes for female muslim doctors who would need to pull back part of their hijab to put on the stethoscope. And that is inefficient and inconvenient.
As with all great inventions which comes from solving day to day problems, Adlina Anis came up with a brilliant solution, a product called Ninja Echo. Here’s a look at the product:
The Ninja Echo was inspired by Adlina’s interest in keeping fit but discovered a difficulty in listening to music as her hijab didn’t accommodate earphones. The Ninja Echo has a patent-pending flap that maintains modesty and allows the wearer to use earphones comfortably. This new design by Adlina Anis allows the wearer to put on the earphones without any awkwardness.
On top of that, Ninja Echo is also perfect for female muslim fitness enthusiasts who exercise regularly and listens to music on the go.
“Muslim women also want to be able to enjoy sports like running but at this time there is no product that allows them to do so in a modest and at the very least not look awkward while doing so. I’ve had that problem many times myself when I go for a run. I want to have easy access for my earphones so that i can take them off or put them on easily,” Adlina shared with Vulcan Post.
From Idea To Design To Manufacturing To Sales
To bring her idea to life, Adlina ran their initial pilot introduction stocks of a few hundred pieces within 24 hours of launching.
All production are also handled in her own workshop, because she wanted to control the product quality.
An alumna of Temasek Polytechnic’s School of Design, Adlina Anis has always loved fashion. Graduating with a Diploma in Apparel Design & Merchandising, she immediately started her illustrious career as a fashion assistant for magazines such as August Man, L’Officiel and Prestige. She later worked full-time as a fashion stylist at the Singapore version of Italian magazine, Amica, and accumulated her design experience which would later lead her to starting her own fashion label.
The Ninja Echo in its current form is the first iteration and is made is airy and stretchable material. Future plans include making these designs available in an array of colours and materials. “We would love to make this available in every colour and material from the get go but because I run my own workshop, we produce at quantities where we can manage a higher level of execution that mass production methods,” shared Adlina.
“We have just expanded our production facility and have 6 man full-time production team. I also have a material sourcing team and storage.”
Difficult Patenting Process
The road is not all smooth and easy for Adlina though, especially with the patenting process.
“The patenting process is really difficult but I totally understand how important it is to protect your intellectual property.”
Adlina added, “we had to go through a whole year of designing to come up with a final design that ticked the boxes of usability and comfort. Patents registration requires a patent attorney to help guide you on your application as you want to be able to file your application at one go. It is safe to say that the process is already ongoing and is rather laborious. Cost wise we have been informed that the final cost can be anywhere from SGD $2,000 – $6,500 dollars and we will only the final cost at the completion of the process.”
Of course, that didn’t stop Adlina in her dreams of helping all female muslims look great as well as bringing convenience to those who might need an earphone friendly hijab.
The post Brilliant! This Singapore Designer Created The First Ever Earphone Friendly Tudung! appeared first on Vulcan Post.