ARDENT fashion followers are known to go to extreme lengths to land the desired designer accessories.

Queuing up for hours to ensure they land their grubby mittens on the latest, limited-edition offerings are par for the course.

The latest brand that has caught the imagination of fashionistas is BRIK, a boutique founded by siblings Sabrina and Syakira Ridzal. Their offerings of stylish-yet-affordable fashion accessories – in particular their handbags – seem to have caught the public’s imagination.

This phenomenon was highlighted in a couple of posts on X. Social media influencer kamaghul deghaman (@kamaghul) shared a clip showing hordes of anxious shoppers who had apparently queued for some 12 to 15 hours and still NOT got what they wanted.

Some netizens were amazed at the patience of these shoppers who were willing to spend half a day for the sake of a handbag.

While one wondered if this was the consequence of early bird Raya shopping.

One simply surmised that these consumers who were noted to be mainly Malay youth had nothing better to do with their time.

Similar sentiments were expressed by another X user sayang (@Aidasue) who posted photos of long queues awaiting the latest Brik launch. It also showed a young girl who was reduced to tears for not capturing a prized Brik handbag despite waiting in line for hours.

She likened this phenomenon as similar to the mad rush to buy limited tudung edition by modest fashion label Fareeda.

One asked if this was worth the time and effort.

Another queried about the crying lass and it was explained that she was upset at not getting a bag of her dreams.

One commenter sarcastically noted how could this be a reflection of the hardships faced by Malaysians and the rising cost of living.

Some mentioned the FOMO (fear of missing out) syndrome that still seems to afflict large segments of local society.

While such scenes may be great for the brand, it is less than edifying on the consumers. One of the most precious commodities in life is time, something that can’t be bought or traded. To waste it away queuing to purchase a handbag says a lot about those waiting in line.

In the end, one netizen summed it best when he reckoned how sad when humans choose to be slaves to fashion.

- Focus Malaysia