Ashley Nell Tipton

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Ashley Nell Tipton (born 1991) [1] [2] is an American plus-size clothing designer. She is best known for her appearance on season 14 of Project Runway .

Contents

Early life

Tipton grew up in Encanto, San Diego. [3] She learned how to sew at the age of 7 from her grandmother. [4] She attended University City High School, and later graduated from Fashion Careers College in 2012. [3]

Tipton was invited to showcase at the 2012 Full Figure Fashion Week in New York. She subsequently quit her retail jobs at Torrid and The Gap. [3]

Career

Tipton launched her first clothing line in 2013. [3] She was working out of her garage when she applied to be on Project Runway . She was cast to be on season 14, which aired in 2015. [5] She was the first designer in the franchise to cater towards plus-sized women, and won the grand-prize of the show. [6]

Tipton's win was contentious. Tim Gunn, despite being a vocal proponent of plus-sized women's wear, panned Tipton's winning collection as "hideous". In an op-ed for The Washington Post , he stated that Tipton's victory "reeked of tokenism." [7]

Following her run on Project Runway, Tipton partnered with JCPenney in 2016 to produce a plus-size clothing line. By 2017, she launched her own brand and started a jewelry line. [2] [4]

In 2025, Tipton was brought on as an instructor at the San Diego College of Continuing Education. [8]

Personal life

Tipton is Mexican-American. She underwent gastric bypass surgery in 2017, with some fans feeling that she betrayed the fat acceptance movement in doing so. [9]

References

  1. ↑ Olya, Gabrielle (17 May 2017). "Ashley Nell Tipton Reveals Gastric Bypass Surgery". People. Retrieved 25 January 2025.
  2. 1 2 Chan, Lauren (21 November 2017). "Ashley Nell Tipton Is Launching Her Own Plus-Size Clothing Line". Glamour. Retrieved 25 January 2025.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Salaam, Elizabeth (18 May 2016). "Ashley Nell Tipton, Empire Builder". San Diego Reader. Retrieved 25 January 2025.
  4. 1 2 Luppi, Kathleen (28 July 2017). "'Project Runway' winner backs Working Wardrobes' drive for plus-size clothing". Daily Pilot. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 25 January 2025.
  5. ↑ Gerson Uffalussy, Jennifer (9 September 2017). "'It's a constant battle being a plus-size designer': Why Ashley Nell Tipton doesn't want your approval". Yahoo Life. Retrieved 25 January 2025.
  6. ↑ Kelly, Cara. "First look: Project Runway's Ashley Nell Tipton brings plus-sized style to JCPenney". USA TODAY. Retrieved 25 January 2025.
  7. ↑ Gunn, Tim (8 September 2016). "Tim Gunn: Designers refuse to make clothes to fit American women. It's a disgrace". Washington Post. Retrieved 25 January 2025.
  8. ↑ Sklar, Debbie L. (2025-03-28). "'Project Runway' winner joins faculty as clothing and textiles instructor". Times of San Diego. Retrieved 2025-05-12.
  9. ↑ Rife, Katie (14 May 2021). "Ashley Nell Tipton both changed and confirmed Project Runway's ideas about plus-size fashion". AV Club. Retrieved 25 January 2025.
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