Tendai is a business owner, designer, model and advocate for sustainable fashion. Despite only starting her career in fashion in her mid 40’s Tendai has created designs for Yorkshire Fashion Week, participated as a contestant on Dress the Nation as well as designing her own brand, TeeStyle Tribe, and modeling for ITV’s This Morning. Tendai is fast becoming a formidable force in the changing landscape of the fashion industry.

Fusing together her African and Yorkshire heritage through both her clothes and identity is something Tendai feels passionately about: ‘When people ask where I’m from I say I’m a Zimbabwe Yorkshire woman because I can’t just be one, I am both.’

Even though Yorkshire folk inspire her through their enthusiasm for her designs, it’s her Zimbabwean heritage that runs through the core of her clothing with one rule: ‘they have to be very bold in print, so I use African print for that reason,’ Tendai explains. ‘Even if the style is simple, the fabric speaks for itself.’

Not only does Tendai believe in our clothes’ ability to enhance our mood, but she is passionate about how fashion can break down barriers: ‘Clothing is one of those things where we could both be on the same level – I could sit with someone who’s so rich and we can both interact – it’s a language in itself. It’s universal.’

-source Meet M&S: Dress the Nation