Any fashion conscious person would admire Noppawan Nopas’ personal style. She’s always impeccably dressed in the latest styles, making sure that her personality shines through everything she wears.
Her business partner is equally stylish, and together, they have set up one of Windhoek’s trendiest fashion stores.
When we meet Nopas at the pretty pink Sai Style fashion boutique, luxuriously furnished despite its small dimensions, she tells me that it’s exactly because people love her style so much that she decided to venture into the business of fashion. “Before I started this business, everywhere I went, people would ask me where I buy my clothes,” she says.
Like many small scale fashion retailers, she started off by selling clothes to those within her circle and later branched out by setting up stalls at the popular City Market at Windhoek’s The Village Complex in Eros. This is coincidentally also the same place her uber chic store is now situated.
“I started selling my clothes at the market last year and I really didn’t expect people to like my clothes so much,” she says.
Through those pop-up sales, her clientele started growing and today, she boasts some prominent clients who come to her for one thing – exclusive, high-end clothing not everyone will have access to.
She prides herself on this exclusivity, saying that her prices did scare off some people in the beginning but those who understand that exclusivity does sometimes come at a price have continued to support her business.
“When I started selling at The Market, people loved my clothes but complained about the prices and also the sizes,” she admits – adding that she had to familiarise herself with the body shapes of Namibian women in order to properly cater to them.
“I’m from Thailand and our sizes are small compared to the sizes here. It’s something I had to learn to work with.”
Her business partner, who prefers to remain anonymous, says that the shop is for those who want to stand out. “Sai Style is unique, your one-stop-shop for anything fashionably trendy… we always try to get items that are daring for all the fashion lovers out there who dare to be different.”
While she never intended to venture into the business of fashion when she first came to Namibia, Nopas has found that her passion for fashion could actually be profitable.
“I really love fashion and I want to grow my shop and improve it and also influence Namibians to see Sai Style as the number one option for quality, fashionable clothing,” she says confidently.
She’s passionate about making women look and feel good in the clothes they buy from Sai Style, and is very hands-on with customers who pop into the shop.
At the moment, the clothing in the boutique is sourced from around the world. Nopas has also tested out a few self-designed garments she had made by her Bangkok-based best friend who owns a fashion design business in Thailand.
While understanding that going into production will be costly, Nopas is hoping to expand her business in the future by selling a wider variety of clothing and accessories and also getting a bigger retail space to sell from.
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