Alicia Pinckney
Originally from West Philadelphia(born & raised), and currently based in Portland, after 4 years in Switzerland, my career has allowed me to call six cities and three countries home: US-Phila, NYC, Boston, Italy-Milano & Switzerland-Lugano. I spent the last moments of my tenure with Timberland in Switzerland, leading, designing, and growing all of Timberland's women's apparel business unit as Senior Designer and ended my 6 year journey overseas by accepting a role to join the Jordan design team at the Nike World HQ. As a Global Apparel Designer with demonstrated history of understanding consumers and different cultures, while also working with a team of different nationalities, I have been able to apply this knowledge to my technical & creative skills in delivering and managing on brand product of wide ranges and categories. My strong suit is storytelling and paying attention to what’s relevant on the market, while honing in on the brand’s ethos and rich heritage.
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PHILADELPHIA UNIV.
BS(Bachelor's of Science)- Fashion Design
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DOMUS ACADEMY-Milan, Italy
M.Des(Master's Design)- Fashion Design
In addition to actively using my creative side, I am balancing my technical thinking daily through building tech packs and creating 3D renders of my designs to send off for production. I have a robust background in cut and sewing on industrial machines and patternmaking. As an inquisitive learner, my knowledge of garment construction was self taught at a young age. I had the privilege to refine those skills while pursuing my Bachelor's degree at Philadelphia Univ. & later winning the 1st place global scholarship sponsored by Vogue Italia, to get my Master’s degree at Domus Academy in Milan, Italy. I am a self-starter, a founder, connector and I enjoy working collaboratively and cross functionally.
Outside of my career, my passion project is founding and establishing the Black Talent in Design and Fashion Fund, a scholarship and mentorship program for students of color studying to enter the underrepresented footwear and fashion industry. So far, the Black Talent in Design & Fashion fund has partnered with local and big brands to be able to award a scholarship to 39 students since the launch in 2020 as well as job placement and mentorship. Since joining the Portland community in 2021, from Switzerland, I cofounded and cohost a monthly brunch series helping Black women build community in a non diverse city. The monthly brunch series consist of 250+ black women from all generations and career paths and it even extends into wellness events throughout the month. Throughout my 10+ tenure in the fashion and footwear industry, I've been able to fuse my technical/creative knowledge of design with my love of giving back, mentorship and building community.