“Start the things you want to start and don’t doubt too much.”
-Jhaz Muhamad
Jhaz's younger brother Ikai Muhamad in the Director’s Cut shirt.
My dear friend Jhaz recently decided to enter the ready-to-wear market. In a better attempt to understand this decision, I sat down with him and we spoke about him, his brand, his relation to clothing, and his advice for others.
Jhaz Muhamad (@jhzmhd) is a young graphic designer, illustrator, and the founder of Jouz. The creative was born in the city of Rotterdam and comes from Javanese heritage. He currently studies fashion at the Willem de Kooning Academy in Rotterdam.
Jhaz has always been a creative, and he’s been drawing since he was young and later started with digital art. When asked about his relation to art, he said that it is his way to escape from the busy world and just relax. He explained that at one point he decided to make use of his talents by creating artworks for others, namely album covers. This was something he did for years under the name Mmalaz, a name inspired by the Indonesian word for ‘lazy.’ His artworks show a certain anime influence, and Jhaz stated anime has the biggest influence on his art style. Creating works for others was something he enjoyed, but he knew that he could do more. After developing his personal clothing style for a while, he thought to himself, "Yo, if I can already design [graphics], why not design clothes?" This led to him starting his own clothing line, Jouz.
The name Jouz is inspired by a part of the Qur’an. A juz is one of thirty parts into which the holy book is divided. When asked what message he wants to share with his brand, he said to find your "part" and do something with it.
"Research your identity and make use of it."
As for Jhaz, he’s truly done so, in my opinion. He took his creative part and turned it into something that shows you who he is. His digital artworks are an accurate reflection of his growth as a creative. I am a big believer in letting your work speak for you, and Jhaz’s work definitely does so for him.
When faced with the challenging question, "What sets Jouz apart from other clothing lines?" he responded by saying that he doesn’t believe that people and brands are all that different from one another. “The beautiful thing is that everything has kind of already been created, so being original in that sense can be quite hard.” He goes on to say that to truly make something your own, and this might sound obvious, is to change it to your liking. For example, Jhaz is good at drawing, so he creates shirts with his own drawings. In the grand scheme of things, a lot of brands can look the same, but upon further inspection, you’ll find that the authenticity of the designers is something that sets brands apart and ultimately makes every brand unique.
What can seem like a simple long sleeve shirt, is actually a piece of clothing that represents a person, a story and a philosophy. In the case of the Director’s Cut shirt, it represents the essence of Jouz which is to just start. As Jhaz put it:
"The Director’s Cut shirt represents the idea that you shouldn’t overthink things too much and should eventually make the ‘cut’ and just start."
The shirt serves as a reminder for everyone, and creatives especially, to just start. Start the things you want and don’t doubt too much. The illustration on the shirt is an image of Jhaz, drawn in his own style. He said that it shows him brainstorming about how he would start his brand, but it could represent anyone who’s brainstorming their future.
Jhaz’s relation to clothing isn’t new. In 2023 he started working with a sewing machine. So far, he’s sewn his own hoodie and repurposed some jeans. When asked about his relation to clothing he’s made himself, he said that he treats it very differently than store-bought clothing. “I try to wash it at lower temperatures and I don’t put it into the dryer,” this in an attempt to preserve his clothes and prevent early wear and tear. He also explained that sewing his own clothes gave him a sense of independence: “I spend less money on fast fashion, because if I go to a store like H&M and see a pair of pants I like, I know that I can just make one myself.”
Later on, he advised others to also sew their own clothes if possible. He goes on to say, “You’ll feel better by just wearing it, and it’s also better for the environment. And you treat your own clothes better than other clothes. You also realize that it’s not really necessary to buy clothes from big brands. It makes you feel more independent.”
While Jhaz is just getting started, he’s shared that he has already faced a few challenges. As a creative, it’s easy to get lost in the administrative aspects of starting a brand. Things such as taxes, registration, administration, import, and export are all things that can be overwhelming. Besides the previously mentioned factors, Jhaz also shared that marketing can be a hard part of starting a business. When you’re focused on the creative part of the whole process, the other parts easily fade out. He doesn’t let these temporary challenges get the best of him though: “I do believe that it’ll work itself out somehow, but I can’t say that it’s easy.”
Regardless of the challenges that come with the process, he advises anyone who wishes to start to do the following:
“Just start. Start with designing, start registering with the Chamber of Commerce, and like I said, everything will work itself out. Don’t start when you know how it works, just start, and you’ll find out how it works.”
The Director’s Cut shirt, the first Jouz item, will be available for purchase on Monday, September 30th, 2024, at jouzstudio.com.
To get a better understanding of Jouz, visit their instagram @jouz.studio and website jouzstudio.com or scan the above code for their Spotify playlist.