TikTok-famous clothing brand inspired by South Asian culture opens pop-up in Raleigh
A North Carolina-born clothing brand with nearly 174,000 TikTok followers and a presence at Nordstrom shops will soon have a storefront of its own — temporarily, at least.
Sani, which was launched by sisters Niki and Ritika Shamdasani in February 2020, will occupy a space in the main district at Raleigh’s North Hills.
While the company has popped up inside other businesses, this is the first time Sani will fill a space of its own.
Here are details about the pop-up.
What will be at the Sani pop-up?
Shoppers won’t just find Sani products and custom embroidery service in store.
The first weekend, 321 Coffee, coconut spread seller Kokada and gaming company GameFlo will be on site. TikTok creators Rachel and Tom Sullivan will work as guest baristas and promote their new book. Different companies will be invited in future weekends.
“We’re just trying to make it a really fun moment for a bunch of local businesses to gather and, you know, make it really good,” Niki Shamdasani told The News & Observer in a phone call. “It’s like the New York pop-ups we’ve always seen, try and bring it to Raleigh.”
How TikTok helped Sani grow
The Shamdasani sisters, who grew up in Fayetteville, started Sani to solve a problem many of their friends were facing: they couldn’t find clothes to wear to Indian weddings, which are typically multi-day affairs that require multiple outfits.
Plus, they noticed that while many companies manufacture clothing in India (according to the CIA World Factbook, garments are among the country’s top five exported commodities), they sometimes lack a connection to the region’s culture.
“So we were like, you know, let’s be the ones to invite people into our culture in a way that feels like appreciation,” Niki Shamdasani said.
The company launched in 2020 in conjunction with a debut on clothing rental platform Rent the Runway, and Sani’s clothes were completely booked within 48 hours, Shamdasani said.
“Rent the Runway is about creating visibility for a lot of clothing designers,” Niki Shamdasani told The N&O at the time. “It started off with more established designers and now new ones as well. For us to be in that group of people says [Sani] is a legitimate fashion business.”
Shortly after, the COVID-19 pandemic emerged. “It was suddenly very bad to be in the Indian wedding business,” Shamdasani told The N&O in a phone call.
But one of the brand’s earliest TikTok videos, posted in March 2020, went viral, leading to a host of mentions and features in national publications including Bloomberg and Forbes’ 2023 30 Under 30.
Would-be customers asked what they could purchase from the brand, if not wedding attire, and by 2020’s end, Sani had a loungewear collection.
The richly colored fabrics were inspired by Indian weddings, and the pieces featured embroidery.
Sani continues to expand its product lines, offering everything one might need for a destination wedding, including casual dresses for an occasion like a welcome dinner.
Sani popup times and location
Starting Saturday, Nov. 23, and for every weekend through Sunday, Dec. 22, Sani will have a pop-up at 4350 Lassiter at North Hills Ave.
After the first weekend, hours will be 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Friday-Saturday and 12-5 p.m. Sunday.
This story was originally published November 22, 2024 at 3:26 PM with the headline "TikTok-famous clothing brand inspired by South Asian culture opens pop-up in Raleigh."
