What are you selling?
Kí lẹ̀ ń tà?
Walk through the markets of South-Western Nigeria and you'll hear it everywhere, traders and passers-by trading the question back and forth: Kí lẹ̀ ń tà? It's a phrase built on curiosity, on exchange, on the stories shared before anything is bought or sold. It's also where our name comes from.
KÍLÉNTÁR is a luxury womenswear house pioneering a new chapter in contemporary African fashion, one built on craftsmanship, culture, and the women who bring every piece to life.
We work closely with a dedicated community of around 30 female hand-weavers and dyers across West Africa, using 100% organically grown cotton and time-honoured methods that most fashion houses left behind decades ago. In Burkina Faso, we've built our own factory of female weavers, developing our woven designs ourselves, from thread to finished textile. Some of what you wear literally doesn't exist anywhere else.
Because more than clothing, every KÍLÉNTÁR piece carries a story: of the hands that made it, the traditions that shaped it, and the woman who chooses to wear it.
Meet the Founder
Michelle Adepoju
Michelle Adepoju is the founder and creative director of KÍLÉNTÁR. Raised in a Nigerian household in the UK, her connection to her Yoruba heritage and curiosity about art, culture and self-expression started young and never let up.
After studying Art and Marketing at university, a trip across West Africa in 2018 changed everything. Immersed in the region's food, fashion, history and craft, Michelle met the women artisans whose skill and knowledge would go on to shape KÍLÉNTÁR, which she founded in 2020.
Today, Michelle has led KÍLÉNTÁR to its New York Fashion Week runway debut, seen the brand featured in Vogue and ELLE, taken the stage at BoF VOICES and been named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe list in Arts & Culture.
Her Vision: to place African craftsmanship firmly within the global fashion conversation and build a house recognised for its own unmistakable point of view.
THE SUMMER EDIT
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