Shantarubini Kalaithasan and her husband, Zibai Williams, have turned their cross-cultural relationship into a business celebrating West African fashion and food. (Theevya Ragu @ FMT Lifestyle)KUALA LUMPUR: Nigeria may be thousands of kilometres from Malaysia, but one woman’s love for West African fashion has led not only to a business of her own but to the Nigerian man she would eventually marry.
Shantarubini Kalaithasan, better known as Rubini, was already wearing Ankara prints before she met her husband, Zibai Williams Achi. Today, the Malaysian Indian and Nigerian couple run Ankara by Sutra Trading, a Kuala Lumpur-based business specialising in West African clothing.
Rubini, a former banker turned financial coach, first discovered African fashion out of personal interest. “I attend an African-led church in Ampang, where I would see people wearing these unique and vibrant prints. That was actually the first time I came across them,” she told FMT Lifestyle.
