ASHLEY HARRIS

ASHLEY HARRISASHLEY HARRISASHLEY HARRIS

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ASHLEY HARRIS

ASHLEY HARRISASHLEY HARRISASHLEY HARRIS

  • Home
  • About Me
  • FIT Blog Feature
  • Detroit Free Press
  • Dresses for Custom Order
  • SHOP
  • Collection Archives
  • Custom Evening Gowns
  • Upcoming Events
  • Illustration
  • Pattern & Draping
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FIT Alumni Ashley Harris featured in the School of Art and Design Blog

Read about my journey from Fashion Designer to Automotive Engineer 

Full FIT Blog Article Here
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“Even when the Motor City was only in the early stages of  turning around its economy, there was an optimism and energy that  empowered the creative community,” says Dean Richards.

“Ashley Harris clearly  possesses that same positive force and is using it to contribute to the  growing fashion industry of Detroit. We are lucky to count her as an  alum of FIT”  – Dean Troy Richards
 

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Car Seats and Eveningwear: The World of Detroit’s Ashley Harris

by Rachel Ellner Posted on April 21, 2020    


After combining an FIT AAS degree in fashion design with a BS  from Western Michigan University in fashion apparel design, a minor in  general business, and her innate design sense, Ashley Harris is on her  way … in Detroit. She’s a product engineer at Magna International,  designing car seat upholstery, while running her own up-and-coming  design house. Harris has been working on her own label in addition to a  full-time job for nearly seven years.


Harris says she wouldn’t trade her “experiences in New York for the  world. FIT taught me so many valuable skills in textiles and materials,  draping, patterning, and even creating tech packs and bills of material  that I use today.”


She makes this career path sound logical in every way. “While  designer labels hold their status in Detroit, there’s an authenticity  that surpasses trends here. In Detroit, you can dress a certain way for  20 years and it will still be cool as long as it’s a representation of  who you are” she says.


“A new generation is planting its roots here,” says Harris.


Like New York, Detroit is also eclectic, says Harris. “Many venture  off before making their way back. I spent a few years on Manhattan’s  Lower East Side. Among the shiny new stores and buildings, we still have  that raw Detroit edge. There is so much history and culture here,  around which that newness is being built. The new is not replacing the  old. It is a cool evolution to watch.”


Dean Troy Richards of the School of Art and Design recalls  “the people of Detroit being remarkable for their grit and  determination” during his time there as a graduate student at Cranbrook  Art Academy. 


“Even when the Motor City was only in the early stages of  turning around its economy, there was an optimism and energy that  empowered the creative community,” says Dean Richards.


“Ashley Harris clearly  possesses that same positive force and is using it to contribute to the  growing fashion industry of Detroit. We are lucky to count her as an  alum of FIT”  – Dean Troy Richards
 
For Harris building her name in a rapidly changing Detroit has been  rewarding. Multiple apparel factories have opened, and more are coming  in, she says.

“Although we have a small fashion industry in Detroit, the people  involved are close and are working together to build it into more.”


Harris’ client base represents Detroit’s growing diversity and  economic vitality. She mostly creates originals for clients in the  Detroit area now, but says she hopes to eventually manufacture small  runs. She’s been specializing in cocktail dresses and eveningwear.


“I love being one-on-one with a client and creating something that makes her feel empowered,” says Harris.


“The women I’ve had the pleasure of designing for are from diverse  backgrounds, and those cultural influences can be seen in some of my  pieces. I’m proud to be able to touch the lives of so many women from my  city through my designs.”


Harris lists her fashion influences as Giambattista Valli, Alexis  Mabille, Zimmerman, and Johanna Ortiz. “I love Zimmerman’s iconic  romantic ruffles, pouf sleeves and mini hemlines. Johanna Ortiz’s roots  from her Columbian background also inspire her work with ruffles and  fluid silhouettes. Alexis Mabille and Giambattista Valli are my favorite  couture artists because of their dramatic silhouettes.”


So what reflects good design in car seats?


Fashion Design is much like seat-trim engineering, Harris says.

“Designing a seat trim cover is actually very similar to designing  apparel. I worked on a model year 2021 vehicle this past year and  learned the in’s and out’s of seat development. I start by draping  material on the foam pad of the seat – exactly like draping a dress on a  mannequin – and then I make changes to improve fit and appearance. I  also use flat-patterning techniques within seat design.”


She notes that car seats are intricate with decorative stitching and  dramatic shapes. Part of the engineering goes into how the different  materials react when sewn together and how they react when the seat  functions to recline or move in any other way. Another interesting part  of seat design is how the trim-cover attaches to a foam pad or the  structure it’s rested on.


Some seats are really “stylish” she says. “Some manufacturers and  custom car designers use quilting, ruching and pleating within their  designs. Some use multicolored decorative stitching. I’ve worked on  seats with specialized leather perforation patterns that make the seats  look very chic.”


Harris’s time-juggling ability is a key asset. Note that minor in  business on her way to her undergraduate BS degree. “I work full time at  my engineering job. Time outside of that is dedicated to dress-making  or a show or photo-shoot that’s in the works.”


Her dual FIT majors also help tie things together. “When I was in  college, if you would have told me I’d have ‘engineer’ in my job title  at 30 years old, I would have laughed. I knew I wanted to do fashion,  but I wanted to do it my own way.”


When Harris returned to Detroit in 2013 she managed high-volume  retail stores like Abercrombie & Fitch, Coach and Club Monaco for  four years there before landing the job in automotive seat trim design.


“Management experience, my internship for Vera Wang in NYC, my  knowledge of textiles, sewing, draping and degrees set me apart from  other candidates. My management roles played a huge part in being  successful.”


“Ashley represents what FIT students do so well and that  is creatively adapt and succeed in the world, while staying true to a  personal vision,” says Dean Richards. “She has found success and  satisfaction in her job in the auto industry, but continues to pursue  her passion in her fashion design and that is truly inspiring” says Dean  Troy Richards
 
Harris says  that when things get challenging she reflects back on her FIT  experience. “While interning I got to see how a design studio was run,  how pieces were created, reviewed by teams of people, and ultimately got  to attend a show at fashion week. We do the same process in seat trim  and the big event is the auto show. For me, seat trim design has been  equally as fulfilling as fashion design” she says.

“I have been given incredible opportunities in the city that has my heart” says Harris.


Follow Ashley Harris on Instagram @ashleyharrisdesign, and on Facebook: Ashley Harris Design.

Read the Detroit Free Press article about how Harris and others at Magna are using their car seat  sewing skills to supply surgical face masks to the medical community.

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