In 2015, Nikita Shamdasani graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill planning to use her business degree to eventually transition into working for a start-up.

Little did she know that the startup would be her own.

Shamdasani began her career at Deloitte and transitioned into working for a start-up, Matter, in New York City. Eventually, she transitioned into AR/VR internships, an area she had always been interested in exploring.

As Shamdasani and her sister, Ritika Shamdasani, began searching for traditional Indian wedding attire, the sisters realized that no young Indian women, including themselves, enjoyed shopping for Indian clothes in the United States.

From there, Sani was born.

“Nobody we talked to was satisfied with their shopping experience,” said Shamdasani. “At that point, my sister and I thought why don’t we make some clothes for us and our friends as a small side project, nothing more; that was last summer. From there Sani just took on a life of its own.”

Sani, meaning “gift,” is a collection of modern, Indian-inspired occasion wear that can be taken from an Indian wedding to a gala.

From the time the sisters decided to launch, it took three months for Shamdasani and Ritika, who is still in high school in Fayetteville, North Carolina, to get the first collection out there. Eventually, Shamdasani realized the great potential this brand had and moved back to North Carolina to grow Sani into, hopefully, an international fashion house.

The Market

For young Indian women in the U.S., one way for them to obtain traditional Indian wear is to travel to India themselves. Although for many this is not a feasible option.

A lot of times these young women will have to get family members living in India to send them clothing not knowing if it is going to fit or if they will like it on. The other choice remains in relying on U.S. retailers who have not yet evolved into today’s fashion.