06 December 2021, Mumbai:
Sari brand Shanti Banaras has opened its first brick-and-mortar store in New Delhi. The store houses Shanti Banaras’ line of luxury zari saris. The store was designed by interiors business The Twin Seduction with Rama Ranjit Mehra as lead designer. The warm toned, palatial space features traditional artwork, golden hues, and opulent seating for customers. The aim of the store’s interior design is to celebrate traditional zari and offer a nostalgic charm. The dream was to create a store that allowed easy access to real zari and bring this experience of Banaras and its craft mastery to customers.
Shanti Banaras was launched in 1950 as a family-owned sari trading business. In 1972, the business expanded into manufacturing its own saris and stepped into the power loom industry in 1992. After launching its first factory in 2000, the business launched the Shanti brand in 2019, which it also retails from its dedicated e-commerce store. Varanasi is known for its ghats, culture, ancient temples and rich food and its Banarasi saris. The keepers of this rich textile heritage are the weavers, who, for generations, have conserved the fine weaving techniques, and the manufacturers, who have made the Banarasi weave a global product.