Tennille White

Biography

Beverly — The charismatic, focused, and extremely artistic fashion designer, Tennille D. White, was born in Chicago, Illinois, July 1980. Her family has always been very supportive of her creativity. As a young child, she studied various dance styles from ballet to liturgical dance. Tennille’s commitment to dance won her a spot with a performance company that toured the U.S. She discovered her true calling during a visit to her sister’s high school. Tennille became mesmerized while attending a fashion design class and this fascination has dominated her focus ever since.

The year after sitting in on the fashion design class, Tennille became a student at Whitney Young High School. She promptly enrolled in one of the two fashion design classes offered. Not satisfied with the limited fashion design curriculum, Ms. White and another fashion focused student urged the principal to add two more classes. Successfully persuading her principal was an early demonstration of Tennille’s commitment to fashion and her innovative leadership ability.

The next step in Ms. White’s journey was attending the International Academy of Design & Technology where she studied under industry professionals. After her completion of college, like so many other fashion design graduates, Tennille was anxiously anticipating starting a fashion career in New York; but she endured an injury that caused her to undergo eight months of physical therapy. During her rehabilitation she made the decision to stay in Chicago, where she feels a true belonging.

Tennille was determined to make an imprint on Chicago’s fashion industry. Her yearnings for success were immediately nourished at the T.U.C.C Women’s Conference where her booth sold out and resulted in numerous orders. In 2004, she launched Tennille White Chicago, her fashion label, and received her first order with a popular Georgia boutique and 14 boutiques followed.

Tennille found her niche from regularly receiving specialized orders from woman size 14+. She has the knack for designing luxurious contemporary clothing for the fluffy woman; her designs are multipurpose, classically lined, and unique, “I design pieces for everyday women that want to get noticed when they walk into a room,” Ms. White tells. “I am so sick of hearing about the fabulous accessories that these women are settling for because they can’t find the right clothes, so they just accessorize a pair of black slacks and a white blouse.” Clients find Tennille White Chicago paradisiacal because the company’s designs are realistic, colorful, and dynamic.

Most fashion designers, no matter how talented, are at the mercy of their seamstress. The seamstress “materializes” the design ideas. For custom orders, Ms. White performs the sewing for her fashion label, allowing her to bring breathtaking life to her own ideas. Tennille’s giant-step, rapid rise in the fashion world is attributed to not only her designs but her gifted sewing ability.

Tennille White is well on her way to setting Chicago’s fashion design industry on fire. Some of her accomplishments include being a repeat designer for the Chicago Bulls organization since 2004, as well as one of the choice designers for the Apparel Industry Board Inc. “Chicago is Red Hot” 2006 and 2007 fashion shows. In just three years, the world has taken notice. The Fashion Group International honored Tennille White with its 2007 “Rising Star” award, for setting the standard for luxury apparel.

Tennille also serves as the President of the Apparel Industry Board Inc.’s Young Designer Network. Through the Apparel Industry Board, Tennille helped to develop and facilitate a program in conjunction with the Chicago Public Schools Education to Careers program for an intercity high school with a fashion department. During this year-long program, she teaches the students what it really means to be a fashion designer. She exposes them to the “real” culture of the fashion industry through interactive activities, lectures and field trips.

Tennille White is one of Chicago’s up and coming young fashion designers. In a short time she has accomplished much, including impressively taking on an exclusive niche market.