Tender Co. is a British clothing brand founded in 2009 by William Kroll in Stroud, Gloucestershire. A graduate of Central Saint Martins (menswear) and former designer at Evisu, Kroll built Tender around a specific vision: clothing rooted in British industrial heritage — particularly the functional garments of the Great British Steam Age railway workers — made using natural dye techniques, premium traditional materials, and a philosophy he calls “perfection of imperfection.” Everything is made in England by a small network of specialist artisans.
Key Facts
- Founded: 2009
- Founder/Designer: William Kroll
- Based: Originally Stroud, Gloucestershire, UK; relocated to Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, USA in 2024
- Industry: Artisanal Menswear, Natural Dye Apparel
History and Craft
The name Tender comes from the coal and water tender — the iron truck coupled to the back of a steam locomotive. The word encapsulates both the rugged industrial heritage Kroll references and the care (to “tend”) with which he makes each garment and wants the wearer to maintain it. After leaving Evisu in 2009, Kroll spent several months in Kojima, Japan, learning traditional indigo dyeing techniques from a master dyer before launching the brand. His first collection comprised jeans, a denim jacket, a belt, and T-shirts — all made in England.
The dyeing process is central to Tender’s identity. Kroll uses woad — a European plant related to the cabbage family, the historical source of blue dye in Europe before synthetic indigo — alongside madder (for soft pinks), turmeric, coffee, and other botanical dyes. These natural dyes produce softer, more variable colours that fade and change with wear in ways synthetic dyes cannot replicate. All of Tender’s thread is also dyed with the garment, creating a coherent aged patina as the piece is worn. In 2024, Kroll relocated to Pennsylvania, USA, where new collections are now being made with American fabrics and manufacturers.
Aesthetic
Tender’s jeans feature unusual construction details — double cuffs, square-lined hip pockets, removable hand-cast brass buttons, lowered V-yokes — that reference Victorian and Edwardian British workwear rather than American denim heritage. Every pair is accompanied by a signed letter from Kroll. The brand also produces overshirts, chore coats, accessories, and occasional ceramics and objects, all united by the same slow, natural, materially honest philosophy. Production numbers are tiny; Tender is found at Oi Polloi, Unionmade, and a small number of international stockists.
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