Ashley Nell Tipton
American fashion designer (born 1991)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ashley Nell Tipton (born 1991)[1][2] is an American plus-size clothing designer. She is best known for being the winner of season 14 of Project Runway.
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]