A Black-Owned Luxury Boutique in Dallas
When you shop Sai Sankoh, you're not buying from a faceless label. You're buying from a founder — a Black woman, born in Sierra Leone, who designs every print herself in Dallas. If you've been looking for a Black-owned luxury boutique in Dallas where the clothes carry a real story, this is it.
Nawara Goddess Kaftan
The woman behind the label
Sai Sankoh was born in Sierra Leone and grew up between London, Ghana and the United States. She built a life as a nurse before she ever sold a dress. The brand began with the clothes she wanted and couldn't find — joyful, bold, made to be seen — and grew into a house worn by Beyoncé, Lupita Nyong'o and Gabrielle Union, and seen on Jodie Turner-Smith in Netflix's Murder Mystery 2.
The recognition is real and local. She won the 2022 FGI Dallas Rising Star Award and was named Best Resortwear by D Magazine in 2024. But the heart of it is heritage: color, pattern and confidence drawn from where she comes from.
Nawara Goddess Kaftan
What "founder-led" actually changes
It changes the clothes. Every print starts as original artwork, not a pattern pulled from a catalog, so what you wear is genuinely hers — and yours. The silks are fine, sourced from India, and chosen by the person whose name is on the label. The goddess kaftans are cut one size to flatter a wide range of bodies, because inclusivity here isn't a marketing line — it's how the clothes are made.
It also changes the experience. Shop in person and you're often helped by the team she trained, in a showroom that feels like a studio, not a chain. You leave with a piece you'll remember wearing, and a story worth telling when someone asks where it's from.
Why it matters who you buy from
Choosing a Black-owned, independent luxury house means your money supports a real designer and a real point of view — not a logo. For many of our customers, that's the point. They want clothing with originality and meaning behind it, and they want to see who made it. That's exactly what Sai Sankoh offers.
Shop the collection
- Goddess kaftans — the one-size signature.
- Statement dresses for weddings, birthdays and galas.
- Sets & jumpsuits, wide-leg pants, tops and silk scarves.
- Best sellers and new arrivals.
From Sierra Leone to the New York Stock Exchange
Sai's story is the brand's foundation: born in Sierra Leone, raised between London, Ghana and the US, a nurse before she was a designer. That heritage shows up in the color and pattern of every in-house print. The recognition has followed — she's been covered by Texas Metro News and BellaNaija, carried by retailers built to spotlight Black designers, and in 2024 she stood on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange among the Black designers honored at the "Creative Currency" event. Add D Magazine's Best Resortwear 2024 and the 2022 FGI Dallas Rising Star Award, and this is a Black-owned house with the receipts to match the story.
Keep reading: meet the designer, the Dallas boutique, and luxury kaftans.
Visit the Dallas showroom
Frequently asked questions
Is Sai Sankoh a Black-owned business?+
Where is the boutique?+
What does the brand sell?+
Has the brand won awards?+
Where do the designs come from?+
Can I shop if I'm not in Dallas?+
Born in Sierra Leone, dressing the world
Sai Sankoh's story is the foundation of the brand. Born in Sierra Leone, she left as a child when civil war reached her country and grew up between London, Ghana and the United States; the bright color that defines her work is, in her words, what reminds her of home. She was a nurse before she was a designer. That heritage shows up in every in-house print, and even in her Dallas flagship, where the blue-and-green color scheme is a tribute to the Sierra Leone flag.
Buying here means buying from a founder with a real point of view, not a faceless label — which, for many of her customers, is exactly the point.
A Black-owned house with the receipts
The recognition is real and documented. Sai Sankoh won the 2022 FGI Dallas Rising Star Award and was named Best Resortwear by D Magazine in 2024. She's been covered by Texas Metro News and BellaNaija, appeared on PBS and Dallas television, and in 2024 stood among the Black designers honored on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange at the "Creative Currency" event. The press has its own name for her: the Goddess of Resort Wear.
A gathering place for Black women
The 3,000-square-foot Dallas showroom has become a home for Black women's organizations, not just a store. Sai Sankoh has presented a custom collection modeled by Delta Sigma Theta members, hosted AKA gatherings, welcomed Zeta Phi Beta's International President for a Women Who Win pop-up, and hosted Jack and Jill events. The label is worn by women across the Divine Nine — from AKA's Tamron Hall and Yolanda Adams to Delta's April Ryan and K. Michelle to Zeta's national leadership. When the women these organizations honor keep choosing the same Black-owned house, that says more than any ad could.
Global maximalist, by design
D Magazine described what Sai Sankoh brought to the Design District as a global maximalist style, and that's the honest word for it — color, print and confidence, drawn from a life lived across West Africa, Europe and the United States. This isn't the play-it-safe kind. It's clothing meant to be seen, made by a designer whose whole story is about arriving somewhere new and being remembered.
That point of view is the product. When you buy here, you're buying a designer's actual voice, not a committee's idea of safe.
A showroom built for community
The Dallas showroom sits at 4755 Algiers St, Suite 110, in the Design District, and it's open Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, with private appointments encouraged. Inside, it's champagne, time and real attention — and often a room full of women who came together. Beyond the Divine Nine and Jack and Jill events, it hosts private shopping nights and brand gatherings that have made it a meeting place as much as a store.
To plan a visit or a group event, call 571-926-5813 or book at calendly.com/saisankoh. Come for a dress; you'll understand the brand by the time you leave.
For the woman they remember
The woman who shops here isn't looking to blend in. She wants the entrance, the second look, the stranger who crosses a room to ask where her dress is from. The brand was built for exactly her — and built by a designer who knows what it is to walk into a new place and decide to be seen rather than small. Shopping a Black-owned house with that point of view isn't only a values choice; it's how she gets clothing that actually does what she came for. She leaves remembered. That's the whole promise.
Plan a visit
The best way to understand the brand is to stand in it. Book a private appointment at the Design District showroom, bring the friends you celebrate with, and let someone who knows the prints build your look over a glass of champagne. Call 571-926-5813 or book at calendly.com/saisankoh — and come ready to be remembered.
