Ashley Nell Tipton is the newest winner of Project Runway. The 24-year-old Latina made fashion history when she became the first plus size designer to win. The average American woman is a size 14, which is why it’s so shocking that it took this long to have a designer showcase and win a plus size collection.
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“My collection is a full-figured collection for the woman in her 20’s or 30’s who is a fashionista!,” she says on her website. “My collection is an artful combination of glamour and street fashion. I love color and I’m very inspired by curvy women and helping them feel good in their clothes.”
The journey for Tipton on Project Runway was not easy, since her grandmother passed away during the same time she was applying to be on the show. This might explain why she was very emotional throughout the show, since on top of all the pressure, she was grieving her grandmother’s death. Her grandmother was her inspiration, especially since it was she who taught her how to sew.
Tipton’s vibrant purple hair and her love for color and patterns quickly made her a fan favorite. She won a couple of challenges and eventually made it to Fashion Week. “I love to design the clothing that is not out there for your average plus size woman, and I want to fill in the gap of that industry and not design cookie cutter things,” she said to E News.
For her Fashion Week collection shewas inspired by Mexico in the 1950’s. Tipton had her plus size models wear flower crowns on their hair and she used an array of colors, including blues, browns, pinks and purples—a very romantic and beautiful collection.
Tipton being on the show has brought a lot of attention to the plus size industry, which is often underserved. Even though the average woman is a size 14, most models wear a single digit size, which ignores those plus size women that could potentially spend millions of dollars on clothing and accessories.