Kianga “Kiki” Milele: Founder & Owner, K.Milele
In 2000, Kiki formed K.A.Kitties, a self funded juniors brand, along with her 3 business partners. K.A. Kitties shipped worldwide and led the trends in the junior market.
Kiki has also created ground-breaking collections and creative projects for Sean Combs, Justin Timberlake, Jay Z, Beyonce, Nicki Minaj, Tommy Hilfiger and Rihanna.
Flash forward to 2020 The Black Lives Matter movement just so happened to coincide with her television debut on Netflix’s Next In Fashion (NIF). The explicit bias she experienced during the NIF competition series came under heavy fire from those no longer interested in maintaining the status quo in the fashion industry globally.
Unwittingly becoming the face of Black creatives’ fight for recognition of their contributions, she understood that there was a choice to be made…
Walk away… or be the change…
As a child of Black Panthers civil rights activists, the choice was simple. She picked up her sketchbook, needle and thread, and prepared to re-join the fight for diversity and inclusion in fashion. But this time… She’s doing it her way.
K.Milele is a celebration of all of Kiki’s gifts, passions and the embodiment of her expressions. Re-identifying with her younger self, pulling into the forefront the art that has driven her since childhood, Kiki embraces her given name, K.Milele [Kianga Milele], meaning “Sunbeam Everlasting”. She’s committed to showing women of all ages and sizes how glamorous and sexy they are.