Sani, Sustainability, and South Asian Fashion's Future
“When you think about the 80,000 and growing South Asian weddings in the U.S. and Canada and the number of people at each of those weddings [who] are looking for South Asian clothes, we knew there was a real gap for us to tackle,” said the 26-year-old Sani founder, Nikita Shamdasani.
The struggle of finding high-quality cultural wear without an expensive family trip to India is familiar to every South Asian living in the West.
UNC alumna Nikita Shamdasani ‘15 and her sister Ritika sought to solve this problem by launching a shopping experience that was accessible to consumers far and wide — and just as satisfying. Based in the Raleigh-Durham Triangle, Sani is a handcrafted South Asian-inspired clothing brand and the first of its kind to collaborate with fashion subscription service, Rent the Runway.
Niki (left) with sister Ritika (right), photos from Morehead-Cain website
“When we started Sani, it was to create innovative, multifunctional designs rooted in our heritage, but infused with the perspectives of first-generation South Asian American women,” Shamdasani said. “Neither my sister nor I had a fashion background when we started. I had been in venture capital and my sister was a high schooler...What's important is to be a dynamic problem solver and thinker, as well as a good communicator.”
As a Morehead-Cain scholar from Fayetteville pursuing majors in business and political science, Shamdasani’s trajectory was not headed towards design. In fact, while at UNC-Chapel Hill, Shamdasani ran for student body president, hoping to foster a system where students could communicate ideas through a website to make campus better. Now, she’s taken that reformative spirit and a problem-solving mindset to create a niche that is hugely successful while impacting the future of fashion.
Western fashion is using more multicultural silhouettes, from Gucci’s focus on headscarves pioneered by Black women to Dior’s latest collection inspired by South African patterns and ‘festival’ clothing dominated by Asian ornamentation. Shamdasani sees the future of South Asian fashion being “more global.” While we see Bollywood actors and actresses wearing Western brands on the red carpet right now, the future she sees is the reverse happening in Hollywood.
Shamdasani said, “We want people to see the influences and then have that taken to the next level, with celebrities wearing South Asian designers on red carpets — and not just to the premiere of an Indian-focused movie — with South Asians taking these outfits from a South Asian wedding to a gala, and with the fashion generally being a much larger part of the cultural consciousness.”
448 Likes, 23 Comments - SANI (@sani) on Instagram: "We decided to change it up with the colors we paired together for a twist on one of our favorite..."
Cultural dress is the future of fashion and through Rent the Runway, Sani has made way for a wider reach of South Asian fashion. With plans starting at $69, Rent the Runway is a company that provides rental top brand clothing. This offers a sustainable option for women who find themselves buying designer clothes they’ll only wear once or twice. Sani now contributes to this closet, adding South Asian fashion to diversify the clothing available. The partnership took over a year to come to fruition after Shamdasani cold emailed the CEO Jennifer Hyman.
“It was after hearing her on the podcast ‘How I Built This,’ where she talked about how she had cold emailed Diane Von Furstenburg and it inspired me to do the same with her. That didn’t mean we had a deal immediately! A lot went into this behind the scenes, from adapting designs for this partnership to understanding each other's operational needs, and more,” Shamdasani said.
For the Shamdasani sisters, Sani has always been about celebrating their culture on a larger level and increasing the visibility of the craftsmanship and culture of South Asian fashion. The partnership will not only lend to that, but also contribute to Rent the Runway pushing boundaries in eco-conscious fashion and business practices.
Shamdasani said, “The future of Sani is continuing to provide the best value at the intersection of design and experience so that we are the go-to brand for South Asian-inspired fashion and doing it all in responsible, sustainable ways. Designers like us also have to do the work of creating a more sustainable fashion industry.”