S14: Ashley Nell Tipton

[Kareem]

Ashley is not happy with bad reviews of her win: https://www.yahoo.com/tv/s/project-runway-winner-ashley-nell-tipton-plus-size-215640379.html

Wow. How unfortunate that she feels it's because people don't want to see plus size models in a plus size collection. When she gets done patting herself on the back, maybe she could pull her head out of her giant yellow skirt and come back to the reality that agenda beat competition.

[ichbin]

Wow. How unfortunate that she feels it's because people don't want to see plus size models in a plus size collection. When she gets done patting herself on the back, maybe she could pull her head out of her giant yellow skirt and come back to the reality that agenda beat competition.

 

I'm more than fine with seeing plus size models in plus size collections.  I welcome it.  What I don't want to see is poor construction, badly fitting garments, and designs that do not flatter plus size figures.  If the finished result doesn't look good on whoever is wearing it (small, large, or whatever) what is the point of a designer collection?  I thought Ashley had talent based on some of her earlier work during the season.  She may very well be capable of pulling off a stellar collection, but that final presentation wasn't it.  As a plus size wearer, I feel insulted that her collection was considered to be a winner because it suggests to me that the judges don't think larger women need to wear flattering clothes.

[HunterHunted]

You bring up an interesting point.

Where do the decoy collections come from? Previous work? The designers continue working while/if sequestered? They bring a collection?

Inquiring minds want to know!

Interesting, to me, that I am seeing fewer "backlash to winner of PR on social media" on my more recent google searches. I think there were a lot more of them higher up the finds earlier today.

My understanding from the Bravo years is that the other designers are still sequestered until the finalists are allowed to leave the set to work on their collections. The decoy designers are given the same amount of money and told that they will be showing as a decoy when they depart. This is done so that the decoy collections don't show up obviously more polished than the finalists. The only decoy who had less time was Austin Scarlett. He had only 3 or 4 weeks to do his collection. There was one Lifetime season where they planned the season so poorly that every designer, but two, was able to show at fashion week. However, I imagine that contestants are savy about the decoy collections by now and probably start working on sketches and designs while they are sequestered.

Edited November 8, 2015 by HunterHunted

[PepperMonkey]

Ashley has a right to say she's not happy with Timgunn just like Timgunn has a right to say he was disappointed in the season. We still have freedom of speech in this country, as far as I know.

 

I'm unhappy with both of them right now, although it will most definitely pass since they really don't have any impact on my actual life; just impact on my enjoyment of a show I have loved for years and used to eagerly look forward to each season.

 

I still don't like Ashley's attitude in saying that if you didn't like her collection, you're a plus size hater. I tried not to read into that too much, but when I read her interview again, it seemed clear to ME she was saying if you didn't agree with her being the winner, you must not like plus size people and ergo, must not believe they are entitled to "beautiful" fashion. As a plus size person, who LOVES fashion but prefers to accentuate the positives and not have flabby meat hanging out of midriff tops, I liked some of her stuff and didn't like some of it. I was "okay" with her win since everyone else was not spectacular. But I take exception to the assumption that people criticizing her win are fat haters and/or jealous. I don't know why but it really makes me angry. Especially since it seems on this board, many of us who didn't like her stuff are normal sized women, not size 0 models.

[mansonlamps]

Ashley has a right to say she's not happy with Timgunn just like Timgunn has a right to say he was disappointed in the season. We still have freedom of speech in this country, as far as I know.

Which in turn gives anyone in America who cares the right to criticize Ashley (or Tim Gunn) for their comments. Ahh, the beauty of free speech!

I think Ashley's kind of arrogant attitude during the final show and after the win is not helping her win friends and supporters. The most I can say about her winning collection is that it possibly didn't suck as much as the other three which isn't a ringing endorsement for her plus size or any other size design skills.

[Julia]

I tried not to read into that too much, but when I read her interview again, it seemed clear to ME she was saying if you didn't agree with her being the winner, you must not like plus size people and ergo, must not believe they are entitled to "beautiful" fashion. As a plus size person, who LOVES fashion but prefers to accentuate the positives and not have flabby meat hanging out of midriff tops, I liked some of her stuff and didn't like some of it. 

 

and here's what bugs me about that assumption: practically all of Ashley's designs were intended to create a classic x+10 – x – x+10 hourglass silhouette, whether the woman wearing the garment - and I include Ashley and her paperbag skirts - had one or not. There were a couple of waistlines on that runway which actually cut into the model's waist to achieve that.

 

And that? Is not inclusive or fat-friendly. Because any woman has the right to wear anything she wants, but she doesn't have a right to her preferred body shape, and her clothes aren't going to give it to her. Shoving apples and pears and inverted triangles and figure eights and rectangles into hourglass shapes isn't going to create an hourglass shape in a woman who doesn't have one. It's going to make her look as if her clothes don't fit properly.

 

Frankly, I question whether Ashley isn't acting out her dissatisfaction with her own apple shape. Because there's nothing she sent down the runway on a plus-sized woman, or wore, which didn't add bulk in an attempt to create the illusion of a smaller waist. Which to me does not scream body acceptance.

Edited November 8, 2015 by Julia

[Mabinogia]

Ashley’s actually delusional. I’d love to see a plus size season, I think it would be wonderful. I would have loved a plus size collection to win. Just, not hers. Not because it was plus size but because it was terribly constructed, had a dowdy color story and was just weird. Wearable? Where does one wear a lace outfit with your underwear showing? Where? Work? Shopping? Club? Strip club maybe, though not in those oddly muted colors.

 

As for making history by winning with a plus sized collection. Please. The first male winner made history, as did the first female, and the first Latino, the first white, the first black, etc. She’s just the last in a long line of “history” makers. Hahaha

 

And to think, she was one of my favorites going into the season. 

[slothgirl]

Ashley is not happy with bad reviews of her win:  https://www.yahoo.com/tv/s/project-runway-winner-ashley-nell-tipton-plus-size-215640379.html

 

I'm wondering who told her she is "not allowed to go on social media today" to read the comments and blogs? Production? Her mother? The competition is over and the episode aired before she gave this interview (or at least before the date on it). Is it possible that the PR officials can contractually prevent her from reading social media the day after the the finale airs?

 

Unless it's the PR contract or some other legal document that is "not allowing" her to read social media, she needs to buck up, grow up and tell whoever is "not allowing" her to read online crap to take a hike. She's supposedly an adult and a professional (although not much else about that interview reads like it either). She's got no business letting other people in her life dictate stuff like that.

[NewDigs]

I'm going to have to cut her a tiny bit of slack on the social media thing.

This forum is really very very kind compared to some sites. And the comments made underneath online "news" articles can be disgustingly brutal. I continue to be amazed at the almost unhinged anger that anonymity can unleash.

But I agree she should suckitup and at least check out what people are saying. Ya' don't learn if you only hear the positives.

[PepperMonkey]

My guess is her family or a "handler" or someone like that told her not to read the stuff, but SAYING it in an interview makes her look like she's twelve years old.

 

I'm hoping that soon, we'll never hear from her again. Wish her well and all that, but she's inconsequential to me and I AM PLUS SIZED!!!!!

 

And the best idea I've heard as many of you have proposed is for them to have a season where the designers have various sizes of plus size models ONLY, but they have to switch so they would variously have to design for anyone size 12 (ridiculous that is considered plus size, seriously) to size 20 or 22. Then  we'd see if any of them had real skills to design for real women because at one time or another, except for Jeffrey Sebelia, they have all said they have designed for real women before.

 

As is, Ashley's win, IMHO, is still tainted.

Edited November 9, 2015 by PepperMonkey

[backgroundnoise]

Yeah, it's too bad the judges let her slide.  Other self-proclaimed "types" of designers, such as "underground" or "surreal" or whatever they called themselves got called on when the proof wasn't in the pudding.

 

Ashley would have benefited a lot more by coming in second or third, with a "We don't think you're quite there yet as a PS designer" instead of a win.  

[slothgirl]

I'm going to have to cut her a tiny bit of slack on the social media thing.

This forum is really very very kind compared to some sites. And the comments made underneath online "news" articles can be disgustingly brutal. I continue to be amazed at the almost unhinged anger that anonymity can unleash.

But I agree she should suckitup and at least check out what people are saying. Ya' don't learn if you only hear the positives.

 

I don't care if she chooses not to read the stuff. I'm only turned off by her not taking ownership of that decision. It's just more of the "victim" mentality that causes her to think that if people don't like her collection, it must because they are prejudiced against fat people. No, dearie... when you create something, you have to expect that not everyone will like it. It doesn't matter if it's a painting, a play, or a upgrade to software. Not everyone is going to like it. Not liking it isn't about anything other than the actual product most of the time.

 

My guess is her family or a "handler" or someone like that told her not to read the stuff, but SAYING it in an interview makes her look like she's twelve years old.

Unless it is a contractual part of her PR commitment, she can only be "advised" not to read it and taking that advice is her choice and decision. Yeah.. "I'm not allowed" is juvenile. And given what past contestants have done on their twitter even while the show was still airing, I don't believe that there's anything in her contract as a contestant or even as a winner that prevents her from READING social media. (eyeroll)

[WhoAmIReally]

I would love to see a plus-sized season!  It's obvious how difficult it can be to design for plus-sized women because of the variabilitiy of body shapes.  My friends who wear larger sizes complain that some lines are for "apples" and some are for "pears" and you really have to find a line that's designed for your body type.  I guess some jean manufactors get around this by doing different "fits"; even Old Navy does various cuts depending on your shape (i.e., "Sweetheart" for the small-waisted and larger-hipped and "Flirt" for other shapes), but it would be very hard to make one dress that is universally flattering for different shapes.  I think it would be fascinating to get into the mind of a talented plus-size designer and see how they think, create, and problem-solve.  That would be way more interesting than this sad token win. 

[NikSac]

Not just plus size designers. I'm fairly small and was wondering what size really thin people wear. Was in a J Crew a few weeks ago and they not only have a size 0 they have 000.

Geesh. Where will it end?

 

My cousin-in-law used to wear a 2, then a 0, and now believe it or not she has to buy clothes in size -2 in most lines. It's nuts.

 

ETA: and, I can see where someone like Ashley who is supposedly designing for "plus sized" women would have a hard time because the sizing is just so off.

Edited November 11, 2015 by NikSac

[mansonlamps]

My cousin-in-law used to wear a 2, then a 0, and now believe it or not she has to buy clothes in size -2 in most lines. It's nuts.

ETA: and, I can see where someone like Ashley who is supposedly designing for "plus sized" women would have a hard time because the sizing is just so off.

I'm a little confused by this. Ashley was designing for real women whose measurements she had access to, so how was she affected by the plus sized industry's (and the clothing industry in general) admittedly baffling sizing practices.

[NikSac]

I'm a little confused by this. Ashley was designing for real women whose measurements she had access to, so how was she affected by the plus sized industry's (and the clothing industry in general) admittedly baffling sizing practices.

 

Good point... I got kind of caught up in the fact that they kept saying "plus sized women" so I was picturing her designing for a size 14, 16, 18, etc. I forgot they have the real measurements, so it shouldn't matter what size they supposedly are.

[Cramps]

1. Tim Gunn kept giving the contestants feedback, which they followed and then the judges criticized them for it. It happened a lot this year. Either he was off his game, or the editors were more honest this season. If I were Ashley, I'd take issue with him complaining about the contestants too.

2. Ashley spent most of the season being overly insecure. Then she got the win. Now she's being overly egotistic, not owning up to any criticism being accurate. A typical narcissistic swing.

3. As I've posted other places, much of her collection was not flattering for plus sized women. And there were so many elements of it that Nina would have normally ripped apart as being too mumsy. I likes many of her earlier designs, but was shocked by her win.

[Oldernowiser]

As an aside, I remember one season when I magically moved from a size 14 to a size 12 to a size 10 to a size 8 and didn't lose a pound. It all had to do with the fluctuating industry sizing.  It didn't do anything for my ego; it just made shopping that much more difficult.

This. In the parallel universe that is Lands End, I am apparently now a size 2... I had already ordered and returned the size 6 I had always worn from them, then the 4s went back, and now I'm keeping the 2s because I'm just not going to be able to order a size 0 with a straight face.

It's just silly.

[Kromm]

Ashley spent most of the season being overly insecure. Then she got the win. Now she's being overly egotistic, not owning up to any criticism being accurate. A typical narcissistic swing.

I said this in another topic, but I'd bet cash money that if (when?) Ashley becomes aware of people criticizing her collection on sites like this and in blogs and on twitter, I bet her defense is a typical "haters!" defense--blithely dismissing what's actually being said or who or why they might be saying it.  If you look not only here, but particularly on blogs and comments on reporting on the show, I've seen time after time, people saying that they are plus sized women themselves and feel insulted by the Ashley win because it implies an inferior level of taste and quality expectations/standards in those buyers. The Ashley we've seen poke through the editing, the smug arrogant one, seems to me like she'd just dismiss those comments too.

[NewDigs]

I speculate she will morph into the "jes jellus" mode at some point.

Though when they did the Reunion retrospective I took a closer at what she was wearing and, imho, she did quite well for herself. Some nicely made things that did flatter. Some cute jackets and fun prints. Maybe she should have done more of that.

But it is difficult to forget that yellow skirt. And the purple lipstick.

Edited November 14, 2015 by NewDigs

[RealityCowgirl]

I said this in another topic, but I'd bet cash money that if (when?) Ashley becomes aware of people criticizing her collection on sites like this and in blogs and on twitter, I bet her defense is a typical "haters!" defense--blithely dismissing what's actually being said or who or why they might be saying it. If you look not only here, but particularly on blogs and comments on reporting on the show, I've seen time after time, people saying that they are plus sized women themselves and feel insulted by the Ashley win because it implies an inferior level of taste and quality expectations/standards in those buyers. The Ashley we've seen poke through the editing, the smug arrogant one, seems to me like she'd just dismiss those comments too.

I promised myself I was done with this whole saga, but this thought has been sticking in my craw for a week now. She's welcome to design whatever for whomever. It seems clear many, maybe most, of us are not her "girl." Cool. But we are representative of a large segment of the consumer base she claims to be targeting. Dismissing us as big ol' meanie-haters instead of listening and learning how to expand her skills to address our interests and body types hurts her, not us.

Edited November 14, 2015 by RealityCowgirl

[WhoAmIReally]

Though when they did the Reunion retrospective I took a closer at what she was wearing and, imho, she did quite well for herself. Some nicely made things that did flatter. Some cute jackets and fun prints. Maybe she should have done more of that.

But it is difficult to forget that yellow skirt. And the purple lipstick.

 

According to this,  http://www.plus-model-mag.com/tag/ashley-nell-tipton/ she was styled by "Celebrity Stylist Reah Norman" for each episode.  She can't even dress herself, much less other people.  She does wear a number of her own creations, though.

Edited November 14, 2015 by WhoAmIReally

[Julia]

Well, she has an post on her front page about the line of jeggings she designed for Catherine's (an offshoot of Lane Bryant), and she seems to be very enthusiastic about cutting the body off horizontally, so I'd say her esthetic was pretty accurately portrayed.

What I was a little shocked by was her episode posts about what established designers Ashley is wearing in each episode. Am I remembering wrong, or wasn't there kind of a big point made about her designing her own clothes? And what does it say about her own designs that she didn't choose to be seen in them on tv?

[WhoAmIReally]

I don't want to be offensive or insulting, but I don't think I would want to admit styling Ashley if I were Reah Norman (whoever that is).  I will  say that it is often easier to dress or put make up on someone else than it is oneself (at least for me) but still....but it makes me wonder if each of the contestants had their own stylist or was it one stylist for them all?

 

Apparently Reah just does plus-size.  I have no idea if the others have stylists.  It never occurred to me that they did.  Seems weird that a fashion designer would need to be styled.

 

Well, she has an post on her front page about the line of jeggings she designed for Catherine's (an offshoot of Lane Bryant), and she seems to be very enthusiastic about cutting the body off horizontally, so I'd say her esthetic was pretty accurately portrayed.

What I was a little shocked by was her episode posts about what established designers Ashley is wearing in each episode. Am I remembering wrong, or wasn't there kind of a big point made about her designing her own clothes? And what does it say about her own designs that she didn't choose to be seen in them on tv?

 

Reah designed the jeggings?

[Julia]

Wasn't that what she meant when she posted about her new denim line and illustrated it with pictures of women wearing jeggings?

[WhoAmIReally]

Wasn't that what she meant when she posted about her new denim line and illustrated it with pictures of women wearing jeggings?

 

Sorry, lazy me; I didn't really look at Reah's page too closely, so I wasn't sure if you were talking about her or Ashley.  It scared me to think of Ashley designing jeggings.  Imagine how many flowers would be glued to them!  Or they would be made of glittery purple-pink lycra.  Plenty of lace ones, too!

 

Whims, I think they do bring their own clothes.  I've also seen the suitcases.  Maybe some need more help than others as far as supplementation goes? 

Edited November 14, 2015 by WhoAmIReally

[NewDigs]

I don't think the show paid for anything.

Ashley was styled by Rhea Norman. And I would guess the compensation was allowing to be blogged.

Seems odd. Wonder if any other designers have availed themselves of professional styling.

[slothgirl]

 if you look to the side photos, you will see a dress that looks very familiar

Interesting that the model in those 3 little pics is the same person, but she looks biggest in the yellow dress and looks like she has a completely different body in the blue sheath. The black/beige outfit definitely does her no favors since it eliminates any of her curves.

 

A lesson right there in dressing body types!

[mansonlamps]

I think the model looks great in both the black/beige outfit and the yellow dress. Of course the model is only about a size 12. Notice how the "real" woman in the yellow dress has a minimum of draping in the skirt compared to the model in the same dress, although it looks fine on her too and she obviously loves it.

[RCharter]

Well, if Nina is going to take her under her wing, maybe she'll toughen Ashley up.  Criticism is part of the fashion game. Cruelty is part of the social media style.  Ashley will either get used to it or wilt.

Oh please, Nina will read the social media tea leaves and drop Ashley as soon as possible.

 

Ashley is not too happy with Gunn either:  http://www.eonline.com/news/713805/project-runway-winner-fights-back-against-tim-gunn-s-harsh-criticism-someone-s-not-doing-their-job?cmpid=rss-000000-rssfeed-365-tvnews&utm_source=eonline&utm_medium=rssfeeds&utm_campaign=rss_tvnews

 

Link to her video interview on Gunn:  http://www.eonline.com/news/713805/project-runway-winner-fights-back-against-tim-gunn-s-harsh-criticism-someone-s-not-doing-their-job?cmpid=rss-000000-rssfeed-365-tvnews&utm_source=eonline&utm_medium=rssfeeds&utm_campaign=rss_tvnews

 

In full disclosure, I rather admire Ashley for speaking out like this.  I wondered how the designers felt about being dismissed by Gunn as unworthy.  Not to say I thought this was a great season, but I just wondered. 

I think Tim Gunn has gotten very defensive the past few years, and none more so than this year when he went way, way, way overboard with Swapnil.  I know he likely has a bunch of butt kissers telling him he is great and was totally right, and so it has to be jarring to him when people think he is wrong.  So he comes up with being defensive and trying to distance himself.  But he is a big part of the reason that this season was so lackluster -- he should accept it and own it and embrace it. 

 

Tim Gunn got exactly what he wanted....a winner that worked really, really hard with no talent.  Because in Tim Gunn's world, work ethic is more important than talent.

[still hoping]

Ashley is a poor winner

When we first saw her I was sort of rooting for her,,,, the more I saw the more I disliked her

Whiney cry baby...coddled by the judges 

Her ugly repetitive offerings were applauded by the judges who wanted a (finally) plus size winner

Nasty pastel prints circle skirts yuck

 

Picked last...waaa waaaa....someone had to be last...no one liked her or wanted to work with her

boo hoo...note to Ashley...the shave side is passe

then again her prints were from 1960's

 

I can't wait to see Kelly and Edmond succeed in future

[NikSac]

Apparently Reah just does plus-size.  I have no idea if the others have stylists.  It never occurred to me that they did.  Seems weird that a fashion designer would need to be styled.

 

I can see where anyone might benefit from being styled now and again - I mean who doesn't love a pampering day where you leave the salon feeling gorgeous? - but I don't understand how a stylist would do plus-sized only. I get it for design, but styling?

Edited November 17, 2015 by NikSac

[mansonlamps]

Ashley is a poor winner

When we first saw her I was sort of rooting for her,,,, the more I saw the more I disliked her[snip]

Whiney cry baby...coddled by the judges

Picked last...waaa waaaa....someone had to be last...no one liked her or wanted to work with her

boo hoo...note to Ashley...the shave side is passe

Lol, wonder what they are going to come up with so no one's ever last.

[RCharter]

Lol, wonder what they are going to come up with so no one's ever last.

The top 6 designers each get the Lexus for 2 months and everyone gets a lifetime supply of Yoplait.

 

Its not so much that anyone wins...but everyone loses....so its totally fair.

[slothgirl]

The top 6 designers each get the Lexus for 2 months and everyone gets a lifetime supply of Yoplait.

everyone loses.

Bwa Ha ha!

[Julia]

This is really late for the discussion but something occurred to me (I work very slowly).  It has to do with the fit of the shorts on Ashley's models, and some people thought they couldn't fit properly because, gasp, the models had thighs and friction caused the material to ride up.

 

No one that I recall mentioned the fact that men have thighs too and rarely have I seen men's shorts have that poor a fit, no matter how large the man is. It is not the friction of perfectly normal thighs causing the problem....it was the design of the shorts, including the material she chose.

 

There, I feel so much better now.

 

Well, yes, that's true. It's a universal problem with poorly made shorts. Women who have curvier thighs also experience it with well-made shorts which aren't specifically made to allow for their curves. Which is why I, at least, thought that it was deeply unfortunate that Ashley, who purports to be a plus-sized designer, sent curvy women down the runway in poorly-made shorts which didn't allow for their curves. If they were going to coronate a plus-sized designer, they should have found one who had the ability to address the specific challenges of making functional clothes for plus-sized women, not just internet buzz and a touching story.

Edited November 20, 2015 by Julia

[Julia]

I agree with you.  It is hard to believe, for me, that Ashley was the only plus size designer they could find (was she one of the designers who was solicited to participate?).....and she may be perfectly fine within the scope of the clothes she normally designs.  But I think a really good designer could go beyond her/his comfort zone (or don't trot out poorly fitting shorts if you know ahead of time that there is a fit problem).  Or perhaps make a skort that conceals some of those fit problems (actually I didn't know skorts were still around but they were easy enough to find online).  I also didn't like the way the pinkish lace crop top lifted up to the point it was dangerously close to coming up over the blue bra....the crop top was something Ashley made endlessly so she should have been able to make that one properly.

 

Skorts, I am vaguely horrified to say, are A Thing. 

[FormerMod-a1]

I've seen men with that problem.  Of course, they have to actually wear shorts, and not "shorts" - i.e. not the kind that come half way down their calf.

[mansonlamps]

I've seen men with that problem. Of course, they have to actually wear shorts, and not "shorts" - i.e. not the kind that come half way down their calf.

LOL, I really hoped those shorts would be a fad, but it looks like they are here to stay. But they may actually be marginally preferable to the super short men's shorts in the seventies.

[NewDigs]

Skorts. The mullet of fashion.

I have seen some active wear things called skirtinis, I think. Just a skirt over a sewn in pair of shorts. Okay, full disclosure, I have worn a skirtini but just around the house. They're actually quite comfortable and more flattering than some shorts.

If Ashley couldn't fit shorts properly I would imagine the skort would present her with even more difficulties.

I've have seen plenty of men's shorts riding up their thighs. Really bad look male or female.

I was surprised she sent hers down the runway.

[Kromm]

I agree with you.  It is hard to believe, for me, that Ashley was the only plus size designer they could find (was she one of the designers who was solicited to participate?)

I wonder. The show never really played up her ethnicity/race, but I wonder if the casting was totally blind of the possibility they might WANT to. Yes it's horrible to contemplate someone might be cast for those reasons, but shows like this do it all of the time and simply label it "their story". I mean Ashley's actual size was part of her "story" too, even if it's meaningless without her designing background. Ignoring that is like ignoring that Candice probably got a bit of a casting bump because they saw a woman who looked like Morticia Adams and thought it created more of a character to bring to air. It does make me wonder if there were some other plus sized designers in the casting process somewhere (it didn't have to be this season) and Ashley just brought the most story elements to the table.

[TheSoundkeeper]

Skorts, I am vaguely horrified to say, are A Thing.

Skorts are awesome! When you're upside down on the playground climber, or your friends challenge you to a cartwheel competition, or you have to sit criss-cross-applesauce for story time, nobody can see your Hello Kitty underwear!

...or were you talking about skorts for adults? :-)

[breezy424]

Shorts riding up between the inner thighs is pretty common.  Do a google.  How to avoid it?  Wear shorts made of a heavier fabric or wear them longer (that's why you don't see many men with the problem) or longer and fitted.  Well, except in the seventies when men were wearing shorter shorts.  Women's shorts tend to be shorter and lighter weight material so it's more of a problem.  The shorts that Ashley made were of a lightweight material and a shorter length.  Her mistake.  I don't think it had anything to do with 'fit'.  It had to do with design on a woman who had heavier thighs.  The romper had no problem because the legs were fitted.  Ashley could have put a strip of felt or heavier material on the inside seam of the legs of the shorts and that might have helped.  She may not have realized the problem if she didn't have the model actually walk.  And it points to one of the problems of fitting someone who carries more weight.  The more weight a person carries, the more variance with the distribution of that weight.  A person can have large hips but thinner legs.  Or a person who has 40 inch hips - on one person it can be mostly distributed in their rear end, another can carry it in their abdomen.  Let's face it, on a model thin person, there's a lot less variance.   

[Kareem]

I felt that they chose to give Ashley the Yay! You're a Big Girl Who Cries and Designs Plus Size Clothes win, but it might have been more interesting if they had chosen two designers with an interest in plus size design. If it was important enough for the judges to coddle her every effort and then reward her, why not have another's creations to pick from?

[marys1000]

On the SAG awards one of actresses wore a dress made of that shiny material bronzish colored material that changes color/shininess when you rub it.  Wasn't that a fabric that Ashley used?  It did not go down well but I think that was partly the actress who wore it, the shoes, the styling and the dress itself. 

Just reminded me of Ashley, and PR which is out of my thoughts inbtw seasons normally.  As always, looking forward to the next season.  Hope there is one?

[sleepyjean]

First look: Project Runway's Ashley Nell Tipton brings plus-sized style to JCPenney

 

"I don’t care what word you use, my job is to design clothing that is not out there for us." ANT

 

I like the moto vest and the peach skirt. The rest looks like standard Torrid/Lane Bryant fare.

I don't understand the magenta schmatta. I'm hard pressed to figure out what I would do with a sheer button down that goes to my knees. That's not flattering on the model, or probably anyone else.

 

But good for her for leveraging her win into something (hopefully) lucrative.

Edited April 11, 2016 by sleepyjean

[Julia]

Oh dear.

Well, at least her winning collection really represented her aesthetic?

[ichbin]

So it seems Tim wasn't much of a fan of her collection either:  https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2016/09/08/tim-gunn-designers-refuse-to-make-clothes-to-fit-american-women-its-a-disgrace/?tid=sm_fb&utm_term=.723189853526  

[DHDancer]

I looked at her website today and all I see are her "crowns" under "Shop" tab....  IMO that says it all.  As a plus-sized woman I would NEVER wear her clothes.

[sassykattt]

I was watching last season as the run up to this season. Big Drama about Swapnil not working hard enough, but on second viewing he did do his woman wrong.  But when they cut Edmond, to save Ashley it broke my heart.  Made me so mad.  So glad Tim used his save.  And they still gave it to the woman who designed clothes NO body could wear