KELE was established in 2011 by designer Ildikó Kele with two close friends who shared the same love of beautiful things. They wanted to create something new and surprising for the market using the finest yarns they could find. You know, something vibrant and fresh but still classic. It’s all about drawing upon tradition in order to create something new.
KELE’s story begins in the early 2000’s when Ildikó saw a knitting machine in action for the first time. She was amazed, and spent many hours just staring at how the needles were catching the yarn over and over to create stitches. She became fascinated with the freedom a knitting machine can give to a designer. She was already imagining endless variations of form, structures and motif. It might sound a bit odd to you, but to her, it was liberating to know straight away that this is what she wanted to do. For her, the hard physical work is just as important as the design process (hmm, you might still think she’s a bit odd). Ildikó is an active contributor to every little step of the design and sampling process. Thanks to her parents, she was born into a tradition that valued sustainability and a sense of quality that’s rarely seen nowadays. She strives to perfect even the tiniest of details; that’s why every garment has a soul and a very personal story to tell.
Now, after thousands of meters of yarn, countless hours of work, and many years of experimentation, KELE presents two seasonal collections every year. Their aim is to make clothes as well as they possibly can.
“Let the thing you make be the thing you love. That’s what we do.”
