Behind Blackjack: A Conversation with Ash Ghazali

Back in the 1980s, Blackjack was an offshoot multi-label boutique under Club21, drawing a young, creative crowd with cult brands like Maharishi, Mambo, and Diesel. Now, decades after its inception, Blackjack has made a new name for itself as an original in-house label for Club21, producing independent designs that embody the same eclectic and trailblazing spirit of its yesteryears.
Behind Blackjack’s revival is Ash Ghazali, Creative Director at Club21 and Blackjack, whose illustrious career has seen him in roles within advertising, art, and music. His roots with Blackjack began even before his entry to Club21.
“My friends and I would hang out at the café inside the shop,” Ash recalls of his youth – referring to its flagship located at Hard Rock Café. “Blackjack brought in streetwear before the term even existed. It was more than a fashion brand, it was a lifestyle brand that inspired people. It had a powerful community,” he says. “I knew I couldn’t let it die.”
Ash speaks passionately about his personal artistic journey, tracing Blackjack’s evolution, and his motivation to keep the brand alive.
Blackjack had been closed down for some time when you came to be Creative Director at Club21. Can you walk us through your thought process of wanting to restart the brand? I actually grew up in Blackjack. This was the pre-internet era, and going to the shop felt like going to the internet. There were so many interesting brands stocked in Blackjack, and high-end street wear which were more accessible than its sister brand Club21, though I couldn’t actually afford anything. But it attracted people who were part of more niche communities and subcultures: musicians, art students, and so on. To me, it was huge, and ahead of its time.
When I started working in Club21, the first thing I asked was: “What happened to Blackjack?” The next was: “Why don’t we bring it back?” It had so much cultural cachet and history, I saw potential to rekindle it to its own authentic brand, and bring a new perspective to the fashion scene in Singapore, and even Asia. Blackjack meant a lot to me, as it did to many others. My mission was simple: to see Blackjack live another 50 years.
You’re a person who has consistently been involved in the arts. How would you describe your career so far, and what role do you play at Blackjack now? I have a relentless artistic energy that I’ve carried with me since I was young. I always had the desire to create things. I started as an infamous rapper when I was 17 years old. That extended into DJ-ing, producing music, and being a Creative Director in a global advertising firm. My first hands-on exploration into fashion was when I was living in London during the pandemic. I spent a lot of time working on the computer, but I wanted to do something with my hands. So I bought some vintage US Army sweaters, vintage military patches and fabric letters, and started putting them together.
I believe in the school of life, and being a multi-dimensional person. I don’t think going to school is the only option to pursue what you are truly passionate about. For everything I was interested in, I picked it up by self-teaching and learning from online resources. At Blackjack, I’m the Creative Director. I set the concept, I create content, I design the collections, most recently our Analog Assassin collection.
Do your various forms of work influence each other and what you do at Blackjack? I’ve had a deep relationship with design my whole life: whether it was making flyers for club nights that I was DJ-ing for, or making merchandise t-shirts, it’s all a manifestation of my artistic vision. I feel that my life made sense once I realised I am an artist, dynamically moving across different mediums and platforms. Curating and styling comes instinctively, and fashion is linked to every art form I work in.
When I work, I tend to focus on one area at a time because I have a huge passion for that particular project. I wouldn’t call it compartmentalisation, but I am driven by my interest in what I do – I cannot work on anything I’m not ‘obsessed’ with, which means I basically take on a project until I nail it, get exhausted, and move on to the next one. But I think all my platforms of work are interconnected on a subconscious level. It’s like iron sharpening iron: what I do at Club21 improves what I do at Blackjack and vice versa, and this is also true of my other artistic mediums or work.
Blackjack had been closed for several years before you spearheaded its revival. What was your thought process in bringing it back to the market? Don’t overthink about the challenges. Never think about what you can’t do, think about what you can do. Having been a creative director for large agencies dealing with global accounts, one of the aspects of the job is having a strategic mind, being able to discern what is good, and what has potential. When I landed in Club21, there wasn’t any hesitation on my end, I didn’t even have to brainstorm. It was like, “Let’s go!”

What is the heart and ethos of Blackjack you want to bring across to purveyors of the brand? The first is authenticity. These days, many chase quick fame and superficial success, in a fly-by-night way. This creates products or brands that feel disposable, and I think whenever you get overnight success, you get overnight failure as well. When I was reviving Blackjack, I chose a ‘slow burn’ approach, releasing only small-batch, intentional collections, to build genuine interest. What sets Blackjack apart is that it doesn’t follow any rules nor trends, and it’s not pretentious.
The second is approachability. I don’t design with a specific customer in mind: I love seeing Blackjack worn by anyone, anywhere. The more unexpected, the better. For example, spotting someone wearing our Chinese New Year T-Shirt at a night club; or witnessing how people accessorise the Blackjack pieces in their own way: that’s what makes it a living, breathing brand. In that sense, I see Blackjack as a lifestyle brand. It’s not a brand that is released on the runway; the runway is at a cafe, in the office, or down the street. It embodies itself as you wear it.
Blackjack holds a playful, subversive spirit. I hope people experience the brand with curiosity and intrigue, seeing it as an opportunity to explore their own style and taste. Similarly, Blackjack is like a brand personified, taking time to discover who it is.
Can you share your inspiration behind your recent collections? For the Ninja collection that was released in September 2025, I was fascinated by the history of the ninja: they are a popular motif in books and film. They work entirely in the shadows in espionage, never seen but extremely effective, infiltrating behind the scenes so that the samurai – warriors who stand out in flamboyant outfits in times of war – can accomplish their tasks.
To me, ninjas are a metaphor for the unsung heroes who work in the background of our daily lives. In creative circles, these are your make up artists, costume designers, editors, technical crew, a whole team who form the backbone of the project to get things done. Then you have ‘ninjas’ in service staff, store managers, people who don’t usually get recognition, but who really are the superstars who drive production forward.
In essence, the collection is a tribute to everyone working tirelessly behind the scenes, quietly honing their skills, just to be good at what they do, for the love of their craft.
In Analog Assassin, launched early this year, the collection revolved around bringing us back to the past. Music is an art form close to my heart, and I wanted to remind ourselves of when we experienced music through mechanical, tactile items. There’s something compelling and nostalgic about that era, so the collection is Blackjack’s push back on today’s over-reliance on modern technology, allowing smart devices, streaming services and algorithms to regulate our music taste and consumption.
Where do you see Blackjack going in the future? I think culture will decide where Blackjack goes. Culture decides whether this song gets famous, or if we like that pop star, you know? To me, because I see Blackjack as not only a fashion brand, but a lifestyle, I would love to expand it in that direction, to be like ‘Muji with spice’. I see it going beyond clothes to other product lines, and inspire people to a movement of adventure and discovery. I hope what will stay is Blackjack’s credibility, drawn from its legacy from Club21, and its counter-cultural spirit that resonates with people no matter where they are from. The possibilities are huge. I’m just going to concentrate on making it the best it can be.
Blackjack's collections are available to shop, online and in-store at Club21. As a Comoclubber, earn Comocredits on spends at Blackjack and brands across Club21. Not yet a Comoclubber? Sign up here.