Ashley Nell Tipton, Breaking The Rules

Ashley Nell Tipton has loved fashion ever since she can remember, growing up her grandmother taught her how to sew at the young age of 7. Since then Ashley knew that this is what she wanted to do for the rest of her life. Ashley continued sewing all throughout high school and eventually she attended the Fashion Careers College and graduated with a fashion design degree in 2012. She found a lot of happiness and success designing her full figured collection.

After losing her grandmother in the Spring of 2015, a once in a lifetime opportunity presented itself , she got a chance to apply to Lifetime’s Season 14 Project Runway, a reality TV show for aspiring fashion designers. Fighting off all the sadness and grief she decided to take a dive into something new and applied, months later she received news that she had made it! She was going to be part of the cast for Project Runway season 14, and her journey took off from there.

Week after week she continuously impressed the judges and killed all the challenges that came her way, of course it wasn’t always smooth sailing but she brushed it off and kept striving for the win. She wanted to prove all the bullies and the people who told her she wouldn’t be anything wrong. She was announced the winner of season 14 . Conquering one of her biggest goals and being one step closer to her dream of being America's next plus size fashion designer. Ashley tells PEOPLE Magazine “I feel like there’s not enough clothing out there to show our personality and just be comfortable there are a lot of clothes out there for the straight- size woman to be able to show that, but in the plus-size industry, I don’t feel like it’s there just yet.”   

Ashley feels strongly about Women feeling comfortable in their own bodies, and show the world that being plus size is a beautiful thing. Her designs are fun and bold. Ashley thinks that every woman should take risks in fashion, especially plus size women since they feel so limited to what they can wear. She hopes that with her designs women can start being more open and outgoing to try new things, because let’s face it wearing black everyday can get really boring. So brighten up your wardrobe and keep your eyes open, because this isn’t the last you’ll see of  Ashley Nell Tipton. She’s changing the fashion world one dress at a time!