While there are many clothing brands that seem to pop up every other day, they are all too often alike and unoriginal. You can see this effect in sea of young people who are all wearing more of the same according to someone else's notion of what is considered acceptably 'cool' at the time.
In an effort to change that, Egyptian start-up Stabraq Trendsetters aims to set its own trends by providing something different. Driven by the founders' own self-expression, the company aims to inspire others to become their own trendsetters.
The young brand's mission is to put a new fresh twist on high-quality T-shirts with new design ideas as well as to express the adaptive nature of Islam through clothing products that are both handy, stylish and cool.
"Stabraq is a way of expression, it is the details and precision. Stabraq represents us, it is the personification of awareness," says an excerpt from their promotional video. Their latest products, the SajdaFlap Polo and the Basic Graffiti reflect their vision.
The SajdaFlap Polo is Stabraq's Muslim version of a Polo t-shirt, one that has a small flap at the end of the back of the t-shirt to make it easier in praying. It aims to be a versatile and comfortable but stylish shirt for someone to just put on and go to help make their long busy day just a little bit easier and more efficient.
On the other hand, the Basic Graffiti is a basic shirt that is 100 percent premium cotton and has a simple Arabic graffiti design in different colors. The shirt fits with the company's goal to provide high quality products that are also wearable and simple.
Things were going well for the start-up that started in 2013 until the factory that harbored its newly produced T-shirts burned down before the products could be delivered to their headquarters. The start-up then decided to start a crowdfunding campaign on Middle Eastern crowdfunding platform Zoomaal, a go-to for many Egyptian start-ups.
To produce new items, the start-up has set five funding milestones with a final goal of raising $48,000.With 36 days left to go in the campaign, the project is nearly halfway to its first milestone, raising 3,182 dollars.
Stabraq prides itself on being an entirely all-Egyptian brand producing clothing with as much originality as personality. The founders also pride themselves on being inspired enough by their own determination and perseverance to inspire others.
The brand's ultimate goal is become a successful local and regional company that can inspire others to not only express themselves but can also inspire them to do what they love and follow their own dreams.
"We will change the world. That's what we tell ourselves everyday," says another excerpt from the video.