About Us

KÍ LÉN TÁ 

‘What are you selling?’ 

Michelle Adepoju with female dyes in Osun state in Nigeria

Birthed in October 2019 by Michelle Adepoju, KÍLÉNTÁR is a womenswear brand that creates timeless pieces with a fiercely feminine aesthetic and a vision for sustainable elegance.

Our Founder 

Inspired by her British and Nigerian upbringing, Michelle Adepoju infuses a mix of culture from both worlds and molds them into creating statement pieces for the modern woman of today. Michelle is constantly drawing inspiration from elements found in different eras and culture, as she strives to bridge the gap between traditional African designs and contemporary fashion.

“Each KÍLÉNTÁR piece is made with intentions behind it. It is important for every customer who owns a KÍLÉNTÁR piece to know that they are not just wearing a beautiful piece of clothing, but they are buying into a piece of our story and our culture.”

KÍLÉNTÁR believes in creating high quality, statement pieces, created using fabrics and materials hand sourced from different parts of the world. Our pieces are made-to-order ranging in sizes UK 4-22. We want all women to feel included and comfortable in our pieces, and for this reason we offer a made to measure option, catering to women of all shapes and sizes providing them a customised fit at no additional charge. 

Each KÍLÉNTÁR collection is full of wearable pieces with classic shapes and locally sourced materials designed in house by Michelle Adepoju. 

Sustainability

Each KÍLĖNTÁR piece is hand-cut, sewn, and packaged with recyclable boxes  and marketed in limited quantities to limit product wastage and provide exclusive, timeless pieces that will elevate your personal wardrobe for much more than a season. 

KÍLÉNTÁR works closely with female artisans in Nigeria to create hand woven, and hand dyed materials for some of their pieces. From Aso Oke, to Adiré each material is uniquely and carefully made to the requirements of KÍLÉNTÁR. 

So far we have worked with Women in Nigeria, Togo and Burkina Faso to create timeless pieces, and we aim to continue to expand on this. Our sustainable ethos means we aim to limit wastage at each level of our supply chain, repurpose any textile scraps and donate when possible. 
Therefore towards the end of the year, KÍLÉNTÁR holds a “Zero waste” sample sale where we recreate clothes and accessories  from the remaining fabrics we have in our studio. In addition, we continue to source vintage and deadstock fabrics in our production process such as Yoruba Aso Oke dated from 1900 to create corsets. We are ever conscious of our impact and never sacrifice on quality or ethics for affordability.

 

KÍLÉNTÁR is committed to maintaining the majority of its production in Africa, while developing its international distribution network.