INTRODUCTION
P-23 IS AN INDEPENDENT DESIGNER LABEL FOUNDED IN MALAYSIA, EXPLORING CONTEMPORARY MENSWEAR THROUGH UTILITARIAN ELEMENTS, CONSIDERED SILHOUETTES, AND UNCONVENTIONAL CONSTRUCTION.
ROOTED IN THE BELIEF THAT LESS CAN HOLD MORE, THE BRAND APPROACHES DESIGN THROUGH RESTRAINT AND PRECISION, FINDING NEW POSSIBILITIES WITHIN FORM, PROPORTION, AND DETAIL. ITS COLLECTIONS BALANCE FUNCTIONALITY WITH EXPERIMENTATION, CREATING GARMENTS THAT ARE DISTINCTIVE WITHOUT EXCESS.
GUIDED BY THE PHILOSOPHY “MAXIMIZE THE MINIMUM,” P-23 CONTINUES TO EXPLORE HOW THOUGHTFUL DESIGN CAN CHALLENGE CONVENTION WHILE REMAINING PURPOSEFUL IN EVERYDAY WEAR. INTRODUCTION
BRAND STORY
FOUNDED IN 2020 BY EAZEN LEE, P-23 BEGAN AS PIRATE PROBLEMES, A READY-TO-WEAR LABEL SHAPED BY EAZEN’S EARLY CREATIVE DIRECTION.
IN 2023, EAZEN PARTNERED WITH FONG YAU WEI, A FORMER JUNIOR FROM SCHOOL WHOSE STRENGTH IN GARMENT REWORKING BROUGHT A NEW DIMENSION TO THE LABEL. THIS COLLABORATION MARKED A SHIFT IN CREATIVE DIRECTION, LEADING TO THE EVOLUTION OF PIRATE PROBLEMES INTO (PROBLEMES). THE ADDITIONAL “E” REPRESENTS EAZEN, WHILE PROBLÈMES IS THE FRENCH WORD FOR “PROBLEMS,” GIVING THE NAME BOTH A PERSONAL CONNECTION TO ITS FOUNDER AND A LINGUISTIC IDENTITY. THE NEW NAME MARKED A STRONGER FOCUS ON GARMENT RECONSTRUCTION AND DESIGN EXPERIMENTATION.
IN 2024, THE BRAND ADOPTED THE NAME P-23, ESTABLISHING A MORE CONCISE IDENTITY AS ITS CREATIVE DIRECTION MATURED AND ITS AMBITIONS EXPANDED. THIS MARKED THE BEGINNING OF A NEW PHASE OF DEVELOPMENT, LAYING THE FOUNDATION FOR THE LABEL’S CONTINUED GROWTH AND PRESENCE WITHIN THE REGIONAL FASHION LANDSCAPE.