Ìrìnrẹ̀ means “your journey” in Yoruba. Not a tagline borrowed for effect, the actual name of the brand. Bisola chose it because every single piece carries the belief that no two paths look the same. This summer, that journey makes a stop in London, at Irinre’s showcase at TALES 2026.
Meet Bisola Bamkole, the Founder Behind Irinre
Bisola Bamkole is the founder of Ìrìnrẹ̀, a Nigeria-based brand working at the intersection of heritage, craftsmanship, and storytelling. In particular, she creates handcrafted adire textiles and evolving ready-to-wear pieces, translating culture, identity, and personal journeys into wearable art.
The brand began with something quieter than ambition. “Ìrìnrẹ̀ emerged from a quiet but persistent desire to preserve something deeply cultural while reimagining it for a global audience,” Bisola says. “Specifically, I was drawn to the poetic nature of adire. The way patterns are not merely decorative, but symbolic.”
The Story Behind the Name
Here’s what most people don’t know about Ìrìnrẹ̀: every piece, in fact, starts as a story, long before it becomes fabric.
“Every piece is rooted in the belief that no two paths are the same,” Bisola explains. Each design begins as a story, sometimes inspired by lived experiences, both direct and indirect, long before it becomes fabric. “In this way,” she says, “every garment reflects memory and the lessons gathered along the way.”
The brand describes its own fabric in language that reads more like poetry than marketing copy. Every thread holds memory. Patterns whisper. Symbols guide. Not just cloth. A return. A becoming.
As a result, that’s not language Bisola reaches for lightly. It’s the actual philosophy the brand is built on.
What Shapes an Irinre Piece
Bisola draws from a wide well: African and Nigerian history, everyday human experience, movement, spirituality, the idea of transition. Above all, she’s drawn to journeys, emotional, cultural, physical, and the patterns, textures, and silhouettes she creates are her way of expressing those shifts.
Skilled artisans, many of them women, make the fabrics using traditional techniques: tie-dye, hand-stitching, starch resist, batik. Then, they carry these methods forward across generations and adapt them to speak to something contemporary.
What Bisola wants someone to feel when they wear Ìrìnrẹ̀ isn’t loud. “A sense of intimacy. A quiet power,” she says. “I want the wearer to feel as though they are stepping into something intentional. Something that resonates beyond the surface.”
What’s Coming to TALES 2026
Irinre is bringing a curated storytelling experience to TALES. Not standalone pieces, but garments that belong to a larger narrative. Visitors will find exclusive, limited-edition creations they won’t see anywhere else. Alongside them, an immersive presentation built to help visitors understand the story behind each piece, not just look at it.
For Bisola, what showing at TALES actually means runs deeper than visibility. “Showcasing at TALES is an opportunity to share Ìrìnrẹ̀ in its truest form, with intention, depth, and context,” she says. “It is less about visibility and more about resonance.” A space, she explains, that understands the language of intention, craftsmanship, and artistry.
Why You Should Experience Irinre at TALES 2026
Bisola is direct about what makes this brand different. “Ìrìnrẹ̀ offers something increasingly rare: fashion that asks you to feel, reflect, and connect,” she says. “It is not simply about what is worn, but what is carried within it.” Ultimately, to experience the brand is to step into a story. One that lingers long after the moment has passed.
This is not fashion you scroll past. Instead, it’s fashion that asks something of you first.
Register for TALES 2026 at tales.bellafricana.uk and follow Irinre on Instagram for previews of what’s coming to London.