Since a very young age, I’ve had a mind that moves at a business pace. Ideas never arrived one at a time; they came in whorls. Concepts, visuals, stories, brands… all of it lived in my head, with nowhere to take shape.

When I started at MSMK, my hope was simple: to finally stop letting those ideas fade and learn how to develop and defend them.

That is exactly what happened. Over the years, I created more than ten business plans, each one giving form to visions that had lived in my mind for too long.

In this article, I want to talk about a project that is deeply personal to me. One that cost me time, effort, and a few tears. In this article, I’ll share the story and core behind the project and why I consider it the strongest, most meaningful work I’ve ever done.

Expect authenticity. Expect community. Expect passion.

Welcome to Shamz.

Where Shamz Was Born

Like many business ideas, Shamz was born from pain, not just mine but a shared one. And as the American writer Simon Sinek says, “How personal is the problem you’re solving? The entrepreneurs I admire are the ones who solve something they’ve lived with or something someone close to them has struggled with. That honesty gives their work depth. It gives it soul.»

I’ve always been a fashion enthusiast, but growing up, I struggled to find myself within it. I lived between two worlds: a vision that was feminine and a reality that pushed me into spaces that did not reflect me.

People’s comments, my size at the time, and mainstream fast-fashion options all directed me toward the “male section” of stores. As if the idea of feminine, modest, urban style simply didn’t exist.

Stores boxed girls like me—modest, curvy, and style-driven—into “pink and shrink” clothing if we wanted to be feminine. And that didn’t reflect our taste or our values.

For years, I felt disconnected from my own body and identity. But slowly, I found comfort in a growing community of young women who felt exactly the same. Women who felt unseen by the industry.

Women who loved oversized silhouettes, layering, and comfort without losing their femininity or style. That’s where the name Shamz came from. Inspired by the Arabic word «shams,» meaning «sun,» it symbolizes the warm, steady light that appears just when everything seems uncertain. Shamz became that light for me, and I wanted it to become that light for others too.

Shamz became a place where women could find their size and their identity, far from the limitations imposed by society or the fashion industry.

Understanding the Gap

By 2027, the global streetwear market is expected to reach $206 billion. Women make up around 40% of this market, yet their representation remains minimal and often misguided. Why?

• Brands lose authenticity when designing for women, relying on stereotypes like overly fitted silhouettes, shallow designs, or gendered colors.
• Sizing systems remain male-centered.
• Urban style is still widely perceived as a masculine culture.

Shamz was created to challenge this narrative.

«Today, women feel confident and comfortable in oversized clothing. We don’t need tight dresses to feel feminine.»

— Olga Karput, CEO of KM20

What Shamz stands for

Shamz is an online urban brand built to empower women through modesty, elegance, and an authentic urban aesthetic. It serves a community that has long been overlooked: women who love street style but also value femininity, meaning, and self-expression.

Our pillars are clear:

• Inclusive sizing that adapts to real bodies.
• Feminine urban silhouettes that blend strength, softness, and identity.
• A unique aesthetic inspired by textures, experimental layering, asymmetry, structured-meets-fluid shapes, bold prints, and artistic details.
• Meaningful design, where each collection tells a story and carries emotional depth.

Shamz doesn’t just create clothing; it creates experiences. Each piece allows women to express themselves beyond trends and break away from stereotypes that never represented us in the first place.

The Shamz is coming up

Shamz was born in 2024. Since then, it has:

• Been chosen to participate in an incubation program
• Built a community surpassing one million viewers
• Grown into a brand people already recognize, even before it becomes real

It has traveled far.

And it still has far to go.

Shamz isn’t here yet, but the noise it has already made tells me it’s only a matter of time.

I hope to dress you soon.

Author: Sara Choumkha