"Project Runway" has been concluded last Thursday, Nov. 5, where Ashley Nell Tipton has been declared winner.
This year's winner was over the moon. She took a risk by putting on plus-size during the New York Fashion Week, the first time it has ever happened on the show. She told People, "Everything that I've gone through has gotten me here, and all my hard work has paid off." She is now busy looking for department stores, investors and agencies that would carry her designs. Her ultimate dream is to launch a global brand with the hope of putting plus-size on the map.
Following her "Project Runway" Season 14 win, she says, in the same interview, "I want it to be in reach for every plus-size woman out there. Sky's the limit. I don't have a vision, because I want to do everything that I can." She also dreams to eventually design plus-size bridal wear.
Her win was not all rainbows and roses, however. She has been receiving criticism since she won but open-minded about the idea that not everyone would apprciate and support plus-size. She shared with TheWrap that she was kind of expecting it but just the same, it hurts. Social media users have been criticizing the show for choosing her as the winner. Tipton would have none of it. She said to the same entertainment portal, "People think the only reason I won is because I had a plus-size collection. But we also have to think, at the end of the day, my collection was cohesive. My collection was wearable. My collection can also go for straight-size women."
When Tipton was asked how she felt being the winner, she responded that she holds the standard right now, being the first to win with a plus-size collection. She also shared that the best advice she has ever received from the show was to believe in herself and her design more.
Since "Project Runway" season 14 has been already included, Project Runway Junior premieres Thursday, Nov. 12 at 9 p.m. Eastern on Lifetime.