PROFILE: Sani finds unique South Asian market

By Jenna Shackelford, posted Jun 15, 2021 on BizFayetteville.com

Ritika and Niki Shamdasani made it through the pandemic by focusing on specialty clothing through their South Asian clothing company, Sani.

For businesses that were taking off before the start of the pandemic in March last year, finding new niches and ways to expand was a challenge; two Fayetteville natives who artfully handled the unfortunate turn of events were Ritika and Niki Shamdasani with their South Asian clothing company, Sani.

Sani began in 2017 because of a personal need that the Shamdasani sisters had -- they needed formalwear for an Indian wedding. Niki was living in New York at the time and Ritika was in high school in Fayetteville. “[The wedding plans] kind of happened last minute, and we were trying to scramble for outfits,” Niki explained.

“I went to Edison, New Jersey, which is a huge hub for the Indian community … [Ritika] went to Charlotte, she went to Atlanta. We looked online. We just couldn’t find outfits that we liked that sort of represented some of what we were seeing on Instagram and some of the latest styles in India sort of brought over here, and in addition to that, outfits that were actually comfortable,” she said.

According to the sisters, cultural formalwear often tends to be uncomfortable. Part of the problem is that many of the designers in India are men, so they are unfamiliar with how the clothes feel to the women who are wearing them.

After struggling to pull together outfits for the wedding, the sisters finally found something at the last minute. Afterwards, Ritika visited her sister in New York and they started brainstorming. According to Niki, they asked themselves, “‘If we could create exactly what we wanted, what would that look like?’” From there, the innovators assembled a portfolio of what their ideas could become.

They later traveled with their mother to India, with the mission in mind being to get some of their ideas designed so they would have them for future formalwear opportunities. When the sisters posted pictures of the clothes on Instagram, the outfits were a hit.

From there, the sisters hosted a pop-up shop in Fayetteville that had great success with the first 12 outfits they made. Then, the idea transitioned from a side project to a bigger concept. Niki moved back to North Carolina to pursue Sani further with Ritika.

Today, Ritika is a rising junior at NC State University at the Wilson College of Textiles. She is currently based in Fayetteville for the summer. Niki goes back and forth between Fayetteville and Durham but during the pandemic, she has been in Fayetteville more.

Ritikasays that, as women designers growing up in the US, she and her sister offer a new perspective on South Asian formalwear. With new takes on comfortable formalwear and expert customer service skills, the sisters are determined to showcase South Asian craftsmanship with a special, Sani twist.

“We were really looking to combine our Western sensibilities with our Indian heritage,” Ritikaexplained. “We have pockets on all of our formal wear ... Our attention to detail when it comes to our lining … We use a lot of silky lining so it’s not itching any part of you. We try to use materials that are comfortable.

“We also try to implement design and innovations wherever we can. If we can’t fix something right off the bat, we’ll tell our customers, ‘You can fix it by putting a safety pin here and attaching it like that.’ It’s not just about how we make the clothes but how we communicate with our customers about ways to make this kind of clothing feel comfortable.”

Niki and Ritika are hands-on when it comes to making sure the quality of their clothes are satisfactory -- so hands-on, in fact, that pre-pandemic, the sisters would travel to India 1-2 times per year to pick out fabrics from the markets to deliver to the factories with the designs.

While the pandemic has slowed down the ability to produce the clothes in India, Niki and Ritika are content with formalwear being made-to-order for now to maintain high quality standards, keep waste control in check and be deliberate about scaling up as the company grows.

Additionally, Niki points out the importance of trying on the sample items. “For us, even wearing [them] around for a day. In a five minute fitting, you can’t tell if something is going to be really itchy, but we’ll wear it around and we’ll say, ‘Oh, this fabric has a lot of sequins so it’s really hurting me, so that means we need to pad it even more.’ There are really simple things that come from just paying attention to what just doesn’t feel good,” she said.

Sani easily could have gone under last year when the pandemic began. Sani was just starting to take off and even launched on Rent the Runway in early 2020, but when the events quickly came to a halt, so did the need for Sani’s products. “Formal wear became a dead product,” Ritika said. “What came next was our loungewear collection… I think going forward, we are going to continue doing more of these casual clothing categories because we want our clothing to be for everyone and casual clothing is more accessible.”

Sani was founded on the goal of increasing visibility of South Asian craftsmanship and techniques. Switching gears and producing loungewear created opportunity for Sani to reach women who might appreciate South Asian styles, but who don’t necessarily need traditional, cultural formalwear for a wedding.

The loungewear collection opens the door for more women to celebrate the Shamdasani’s beloved culture. “We want people who are non-South Asian to be wearing our clothing,” Ritika noted. “I know sometimes there is a fine line between being worried about cultural appropriation versus appreciation … Sani is for everyone, not necessarily just South Asians.

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