She’s in Good Fashion
Name: Andrea Pitter
Title: Fashion Designer
Since being crowned the season two winner of “Making the Cut”—the high-stakes competition reality show for talented fashion designers ready to take their brands to the next level—Andrea Pitter has expanded her New York-born line. Pantora Bridal (which arrived on the scene in 2013 as a 400-square-foot shop in Brooklyn’s Crown Heights neighborhood) is now a bi-coastal, e-commerce brand in partnership with the powerhouse Amazon Fashion.
Now with three national locations—the flagship store and two more within DTLA’s shopping mecca, ROW DTLA—the fruits of Pitter’s labor since setting her sights on fashion design at age 12 have only continued to blossom.
After graduating from the prestigious Fashion Institute of Technology, Pitter fell in love with bridal design and knew she wanted to open her own salon.
“I knew that Black women were going to be at the core of my business because I didn’t see Black women in magazines as brides; I didn’t see them in any major campaigns,” Pitter says. “I started my business online…I had been creating all of these bridal gowns and none of them were for Black women. So I said, ‘If I open this store where I know Black women are, they will come.’”
And come, they did. Although she initially wore nearly every hat—from completing administrative tasks to seamstressing—Pitter’s team has grown exponentially from her initial success.
“We offer relatable luxury. I always felt like luxury seemed to be reserved for the haves, not the have-nots, but happiness and being celebrated shouldn’t be reserved for anybody in particular.” —Andrea Pitter
“We’re joy-focused, and we’re inclusive,” Pitter says of Pantora. “We offer relatable luxury. I always felt like luxury seemed to be reserved for the haves, not the have-nots, but happiness and being celebrated shouldn’t be reserved for anybody in particular.”
After many years of running her own team, “Making the Cut” came along and pushed Pitter in new ways. “In episode five, I had done what felt like my best work on the show,” Pitter explains. “I came in second [place] again…but I felt like such a winner. I made my own jaw drop. I was so proud of myself, and I was like, sometimes that’s what winning looks like. Sometimes it’s just for you. If you feel like you’re winning, no one can take that from you.”
In the final episode, the judges also recognized Pitter as the winner she truly is. In addition to the jackpot prize of $1 million, Pitter also left the show rewarded with the messages she receives daily from viewers and fans.
As for those who wear and will continue to wear Pantora designs?
“I want them to feel joy; I want them to feel like every day is worth celebrating,” Pitter says. “Every day we should put on the things that make us smile. Especially in this climate, I feel like we’re all searching for something to smile about.”
Andrea Pitter
Pantora
ROW DTLA
1318 E 7th St, Ste 120
Los Angeles, CA 90021
Based in Los Angeles, Kandace has spent the past ten years in the fashion and lifestyle space, and recently in entertainment at Sony Pictures Studios. She has a Masters in Journalism from Emerson College and has studied in Paris, Firenze, and Washington DC, beginning her career as a style editor and tastemaker for NBC. She is an internationally award-winning filmmaker, having studied screenwriting for film and television at UCLA, and her work has been celebrated around the world, in cities like London, Nice, New York, and Montréal. Paying homage to her French heritage, she is also the creator of The Chic American--a style and culture editorial destination for Francophiles, dedicated to the art of living an elevated, French-inspired lifestyle.
