THREADS Designer Spotlight: Ashley Pinter

Apparel merchandising and design sophomore Ashley Pinter had known for a while that she would be a designer in this years THREADS show. 

“After seeing the show last year, I knew I for sure wanted to be a part of it the next year,” Pinter said. “I figured this would be a really great opportunity to see how it’s going to be for me in the future.”

Pinter found inspiration from the iconic TV/film series “Sex and the City”.

Particularly, the infamous body hugging white dress with an oversized flower on the shoulder featured in the opening scene of “Sex and the City” the movie on actress Sarah Jessica Parker (Carrie Bradshaw).

“I chose black, white, hot pink and gray,” Pinter said. “A diamonds are a girl’s best friend appeal.”

Everything in the line has diamonds, glitz and glamour.

“The dress Carrie wore was the initial inspiration,” Pinter said. “And then everything just spun off of that, even the pleats I used.”

The collection is comprised of five different looks: two dresses, three skirts, two tube tops and a tank top.

The designs are composed of mostly jersey and some denim, purchased at Jo-Ann Fabric and Crafts, 4208 E Bluegrass Road. Pinter chose to design for the spring/summer section of THREADS to test her skills on lighter designs.

“I knew for sure that I wanted to do all skirts and short little dresses,” Pinter said. “I wasn’t ready to do coats and pants.”

Time management is crucial for THREADS designers with juggling school and the other numerous activities on top of constructing garments to finish in time for the show. Pinter made a plan to get one part done each day.

Utilizing most of her time over spring break to complete her collection, each day a different part was completed. While designing her first collection, Pinter was very resourceful when facing design dilemmas.

“I definitely learned a lot doing my own patterns,” Pinter said. “I did a flap zipper on the shorts, which I have never done before. I looked at my own jeans and then reference a design book and just went from there.”

Pinter’s main stress for the show is that a model may fall, in particular her own sister.

“My sisters in the show and I’m really hoping she doesn’t fall because she has never worn heels before,” Pinter said. “Aside from that I just want a stress free day so I can enjoy the show.”