Andrea Pitter is ready for a big win—and she’s put in the work. For the past decade, the creative director and designer of Pantora Bridal has made the dreams of thousands of brides come true with her dazzling line of curve-conscious, always inclusive gowns. But lately, Pitter’s been working on taking her own dreams to the next level, as a contestant in Season Two of Amazon Prime’s Making the Cut.
The dynamic designer, already a fave here at The Glow Up, has been a consistent frontrunner in the Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn-hosted series—all the way to the finals. In the process, she’s reminded us that she’s much more than a bridal brand, with talents and versatility that Making the Cut’s one million dollar prize would allow her to flesh out in full. Repeatedly churning out some of the judges’ favorite looks (including supermodel Winnie Harlow and Creative Director of Moschino Jeremy Scott), Pitter has proven her potential in the marketplace, even while scoring only one win in the series ahead of the final two challenges.
Pitter pressed on, meeting the brief to create a concept pop-up store to express her ready-to-wear vision for Pantora, an evocative vignette with a black, white, gold and camel color story. In this exclusive clip provided to The Root, Pitter prepares to open the space, overwhelmed by emotion as she reflects on how far she’s come in her journey.
To date and against the odds, that journey has so far brought the Brooklyn-based designer to the cover of The Knot and the floor of famed bridal salon Kleinfeld’s. As we know, the trajectory of a Black designer is rarely if ever an overnight success—and for Black female designers, the challenge to gain the financing and visibility to succeed as a brand is even more profound. While there are plenty of Black women in the space, there are few who make it to the top. So, as the final two episodes of Season Two are now available on Amazon Prime (and Pantora’s designs available to shop on Amazon), we’re rooting for Andrea Pitter to be the last designer Making the Cut—because, as the designer herself would say, “We see you, sis.”