Today we’d like to introduce you to Ashley Tipton.
Ashley was born in sunny, beautiful San Diego, CA in 1991. She has three siblings and a large extended family. Family and living the California lifestyle were crucial elements in her upbringing.
Her passion for fashion started at a very young age where she learned to sew on her grandmother’s sewing machine when she was just seven years old, and only continued to grow her talents from there. Tipton went on to attend Fashion Careers College where she got her AA in Fashion Design and Technology. Her senior collection at Fashion Careers College was highlighted in the annual Golden Hanger Fashion Awards. She’s also showed her collection at New York’s Full Figured Fashion Week in 2012.
After entering and winning Project Runway in 2015 Ashley signed a contract with clothing retail giant JC Penny to design and be the face of their “plus-size” Boutique +
She has also designed Plus Sized patterns for Simplicity and her own jewelry line for K&M Accessories. Gifted in understanding the needs of the plus-size consumer Ashley released her first line of apparel and eyewear in November of 2017 and continues to work as a design consultant for other plus-size establishments.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
There has been many challenges. Overcoming the inherent anti-fat biases in the market has been the biggest challenge. Production challenges, Capital challenges, Pandemic challenges. All of the challenges has molded me into the business person I am today. Proud, Confident and Creative.
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
My company is an ecommerce business that specializes in Plus Size categories. I am also on the frontlines of changing the FaceMask category from something one has to wear to something one is comfortable wearing because my masks are well made, fashionable and there is a large variety of selections.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
Had more capital. I did not know how big the demand would be and always fell short on inventory!
Contact Info:
- Website: ashleynelltipton.com
- Instagram: ashleynelltipton
- Facebook: ashleynelltiptondesigns
- Twitter: ashleynelltipton
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