Culture Closet was founded by a South Asian woman from Scotland with a degree in Computer Science and a Masters in Finance and Management.

Growing up, I watched family and friends spend hundreds and sometimes thousands of pounds on cultural occasion wear — lehengas for weddings, abayas for Eid, sarees for events. Garments worn once, then stored in a bag in a wardrobe for years.

The alternative was informal trading on WhatsApp groups and Facebook Marketplace — with no payment protection, no buyer guarantees, and no real recourse if something went wrong. People were getting scammed. Sellers were not getting paid. Buyers were receiving items nothing like described.

There was no platform built for this community. So I built one.

Culture Closet is not a general marketplace with a lehenga category squeezed in. It is purpose-built for cultural fashion from the ground up:

Cultural categories: Women's Bridal, Women's Guest & Occasion Wear, Men's Occasion Wear, Children's Occasion Wear

Occasion-based search: filter by Shaadi, Walima, Baraat, Mehndi, Eid, Diwali, Vaisakhi and more

Embroidery colour search: find a lehenga with gold zari or silver embroidery — a search that does not exist anywhere else

Free for sellers: no commission, no fees, sellers keep 100% of their sale price

Protected for buyers: Stripe escrow, 72-hour dispute window, buyer guarantee

To make cultural fashion circular. To keep beautiful, artisan-made garments in the hands of people who love them rather than in landfill. To make cultural occasions more financially accessible for everyone.

Every transaction on Culture Closet is a garment given a second life. Every sale is a seller recouping value from something beautiful. Every purchase is a buyer finding the perfect outfit at a price that does not hurt.