Sole Mates

Ong Chin Huat gets to talking with Aina Syahirah and Julie Anne Kang, who are co-founders of home-grown shoe brand Kulet, and discovers why blending in is more important to them than standing out.

- Ong Chin Huat

BEING IN SYNC with each other’s taste, likings and moods must be one of the invisible strings which bind both Aina Syahirah and Julie Anne Kang in their friendship and business partnership. “We seem to be able to read each other’s minds,” Julie says before Aina chirps in to add: “It’s probably the main reason why we work well together.”

As co-founders of home-grown shoe company Kulet, both Aina and Julie walk the talk when it comes to fashion and style. Blessed with a natural grace and elegance, both Aina and Julie went to the same primary school and reignited their friendship when they bumped into each other at an event after graduation. “We have always been on each other’s Facebook, but we weren’t that close during our college years,” says Aina.

As fate would have it, both of them ended up working for Tengku Chanela Jamidah in her fashion business. It was during this time that the idea of starting their own shoe brand germinated in Aina’s mind. “I’ve always wanted to start something on my own yet wasn’t sure what, and I have always loved shoes, and sandals,” she reveals.

To find a sole-mate in Julie who shared the same shoe fetish as herself must have been kismet and by 2016, Kulet was born. As a two-woman show, the brand has found a niche in the market for those who love the laid-back look and comfort of wearing sandals. Coming out with three to four collections a year, sold exclusively through Kulet’s own website, Malaysia currently accounts for 95 per cent of their market.