UNKL347

UNKL347 is an Indonesian clothing and lifestyle brand based in Bandung, West Java. Its roots trace to 1996, when Dendy Darman, then a design student at the Bandung Institute of Technology, and a college friend began producing T-shirts and dacron jackets under the name 347 board-riders. The label developed within Bandung’s independent creative and board-riding communities, where small-scale clothing businesses and locally oriented distribution outlets became an important alternative to conventional retail. The number 347 came from the address of the brand’s Bandung store on Jalan Ir. H. Djuanda, No. 347. That store opened in 1999 and helped establish the label’s direct retail presence. In 2006, the owners renamed the brand UNKL347. The new name retained the established numerical identity while reflecting the brand’s broader cultural and lifestyle positioning. UNKL347 is associated with the growth of Bandung’s independent clothing movement and its network of distribution outlets, commonly known in Indonesia as distros. Rather than operating solely as a garment maker, the brand developed as a creative retail platform combining apparel with graphic design, promotional materials, printed matter, and selected lifestyle goods. Its product scope has included clothing, sportswear-related items, surfboards, and furniture. The brand’s work has also extended beyond merchandise through catalogues, stickers, postcards, print advertising, and other visual communications. A significant record of the company’s development appeared in the 2008 design book After Ten Years, Friends Call Us Unkle. The publication documented approximately twelve years of creative work, including apparel design and supporting graphic materials, and described the label’s evolution from its beginnings in 1996. The book is notable because it presents UNKL347 not only as a clothing seller but also as a design-led independent enterprise rooted in a local creative community. The brand has promoted Indonesian production and independent local identity as part of its public positioning. One campaign used the label “This is not made in China” on products instead of the conventional “Made in Indonesia” wording. The message was intended to support Indonesian products competing with goods made in China and to distinguish UNKL347 through a deliberately provocative expression of local manufacturing pride. UNKL347’s retail presence is identified with a store at Jalan Trunojoyo 4 in Bandung. Its historical significance lies primarily in its role in Bandung’s indie-fashion ecosystem: it helped demonstrate how a local label could combine design, community, retail, and lifestyle products without relying on the structure of a large international fashion group. Publicly available reference material does not establish detailed information about its current ownership, financial performance, executive structure, international distribution, or corporate legal form.

UNKL347 began in Bandung in 1996 as 347 board-riders, a small apparel project created by Dendy Darman and a college friend. Darman was studying design at the Bandung Institute of Technology when the founders started making T-shirts and dacron jackets. The early label emerged from the city’s independent and board-riding communities rather than from a conventional national fashion house. The number 347 referred to the address of the brand’s later retail location on Jalan Ir. H. Djuanda, No. 347. The store opened in 1999 and became part of the label’s identity. Its development coincided with the expansion of Bandung’s independent clothing scene and the rise of distro outlets, a local retail and distribution model used by independent fashion labels. UNKL347 is described as one of the brands that helped pioneer this trend in Bandung. In 2006, the owners changed the label’s name from 347 board-riders to UNKL347. The renaming preserved the recognition associated with “347” while giving the business a broader identity. Over time, the company’s activities included clothing and fashion retail as well as products such as surfboards and furniture. Its creative output also covered print advertisements, catalogues, stickers, postcards, and related design work. The brand’s first decade-plus of activity was documented in the 2008 book After Ten Years, Friends Call Us Unkle. The book collected work produced over roughly twelve years, including apparel designs and visual communication materials, and presented the label’s evolution since its founding. It provides evidence of a business model in which product design, branding, graphic culture, and retail experience were closely connected. UNKL347 also expressed a local-production stance through product labeling. Instead of using the standard phrase “Made in Indonesia,” the brand used “This is not made in China” on products as a campaign supporting Indonesian goods in competition with products made in China. The wording functioned as both a manufacturing statement and a piece of brand communication, reinforcing the label’s independent Indonesian identity. The brand is associated with a store at Jalan Trunojoyo 4 in Bandung. Available reference material identifies UNKL347 as an Indonesian clothing company and fashion retailer, but does not provide reliable public detail on its current corporate ownership, financial results, executive team beyond its founding account, international operating footprint, or recent product performance. Accordingly, its documented history is strongest in relation to Bandung’s independent clothing movement and the development of locally rooted design-led retail.

• 2008

  Publication of the brand design book

  [1]UNKL347en.wikipedia.org

  After Ten Years, Friends Call Us Unkle documented approximately twelve years of UNKL347’s apparel, advertising, catalogue, sticker, postcard, and other design work.

• 2006

  Renaming as UNKL347

  [1]UNKL347en.wikipedia.org

  The owners changed the label’s name from 347 board-riders to UNKL347.

• 1999

  Opening of the 347 store

  [1]UNKL347en.wikipedia.org

  The brand opened a store at Jalan Ir. H. Djuanda No. 347 in Bandung, an address that became central to its numerical identity.

• 1996

  Founding as 347 board-riders

  [1]UNKL347en.wikipedia.org

  Dendy Darman and a college friend began producing T-shirts and dacron jackets in Bandung under the name 347 board-riders.

An independent, design-led Indonesian fashion and lifestyle label associated with Bandung’s distro culture, local creative communities, graphic design, and support for Indonesian-made products.

• Clothing · 1996

  UNKL347 apparel

  Apparel is the brand’s core product area. UNKL347 originated with T-shirts and dacron jackets and developed into a broader independent clothing label. Its garments are closely connected with the brand’s graphic-design language and Bandung-based creative identity.

• Apparel · 1996

  Graphic T-shirts

  T-shirts were among the first products made by the founders and remain representative of the label’s design-led approach. The brand’s wider work in printed graphics, catalogues, stickers, and postcards forms part of the visual context for its apparel.

• Apparel · 1996

  Dacron jackets

  Dacron jackets were part of the original product range produced by the founders under the 347 board-riders name. They represent the label’s early connection to board-riding and independent youth apparel culture.

• Sports and lifestyle equipment

  Surfboards

  Surfboards are among the non-apparel products associated with UNKL347. Their presence reflects the brand’s origins in board-riding culture and its expansion into lifestyle goods beyond conventional garments.

• Lifestyle products

  Furniture

  Furniture is also identified as part of UNKL347’s product offering. Public reference material does not specify particular furniture collections, materials, production methods, or current availability.

• This is not made in China

  Indonesia

  UNKL347 used the phrase “This is not made in China” on products rather than the conventional “Made in Indonesia” wording. The campaign expressed support for Indonesian products competing with goods made in China and turned origin labeling into a distinctive brand statement.

  Source

1. 1UNKL347en.wikipedia.org
2. 2Official UNKL347 websiteunkl347.com