At just 28 years old, Michelle Adepoju stands out as a promising designer to keep an eye on. After graduating in 2016 with a Marketing Communications and Public Relations degree in London, England. Despite not initially gravitating towards design, her fascination with vintage shopping during her early years sparked an interest that would later blossom into the creation of Kílėntár.
In 2019, after working at a few brands in marketing, she decided to start Kílėntár and learn as she goes. Her marketing background helped her immensely when it came to deciding her brand’s identity. However, it was her extensive travels for work that enabled Adepoju to discover the untapped potential in certain locations that fueled her inspiration.
“When I traveled across West Africa for [over a year], I discovered that there was so much untapped potential across different parts of Africa and I really wanted to start something that was a made in Africa brand,” reflects Adepoju, who, despite growing up in the UK, found a profound connection to her roots roots during her explorations.
She landed on making clothing as a way to communicate the talents in Africa. She says that the brand isn’t just about selling clothes but a full narrative featuring African landscapes, culture, and beauty. Adepoju is a self-taught designer, having no prior experience or traditional schooling, she began from scratch. She would go to local markets in search of artisans and pattern makers to join her in creating her designs.
“I was very fortunate that I was able to find the first person I ended up working with. We were able to work on a collection together and she was also a pattern maker, and someone that was able to create the garments.” She tells ESSENCE.com, “I started working with one person and we were both learning on the job.”
Adepoju’s designs are unique, breathtaking works that feature beading, luxurious dyed fabrics, and incredibly crafted silhouettes. She designs for the modern woman who likes to go out or travel, but also for the women that just want a unique piece. The designer blends the multiple elements seamlessly to create beautifully executed garments.
When Kílėntár was in its beginning stages she restocked a corset top that was hand tie dyed called the Joyo top. She posted it on her Shopify website and successfully sold 100 orders, a shock to the designer as she hadn’t made 100 orders worth of corset tops. That was in 2020 and it was a catalyst for her brand’s momentum to keep going. Fast forward to 2023, some of her favorite pieces now are standouts in her recent collection like the Ajoyo Dress made of vintage hand woven materials that was hand stitched into a fabric to be made into a full garment.
“The reason why I really love that piece is because literally each patchwork tells a story of forgotten history,” she notes.“It’s [from] South-western Nigeria. And then we recreated it, repurposed it, and made it into a garment. So, it really just speaks as to what the brand Kílėntár is. It shows our culture, the history of it, but then we’ve recreated it into a modern day piece,” say Adepoju. She adds that the Ajoyo dress is a piece that she feels the most proud of since it shows her growth as a designer.
If Adepoju could give her younger self a piece of advice on starting a brand it’d be to stop looking at what other people are doing and to focus on your work. As she progresses in her career all she wants is to continue running her brand and take it to new horizons such as collaborations. Another goal for the young designer is to give back to her community in some meaningful way that will translate beyond clothing just like her brand’s ethos. Her brand name means “what are you selling?” in Yoruba. She’s selling a well-rounded story of her West African culture through her designs.