Her Story
About Alexandra
Alexandra Degner serves as Senior Designer of the Intimacy Division for IHL Group in New York, NY, a role she has held for four months. With nearly 12 years in the fashion design field, she previously spent almost six years as senior designer and trend director at Galmart, working with Walmart, and earlier worked as an intimates designer for another supplier and for Morgan Lane in the high-end market. Degner began her career in bridal design before pivoting to lingerie, drawn to its technical complexity and detail-oriented construction. She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Fashion Design with a concentration in art history from Kent State University in the Midwest, graduating with honors after relocating to New York without a job lined up. Her expertise centers on the intimates market, with a focus on sustainability and technical specifications. In her daily work, she oversees concept, color, and trend for multiple brands while ensuring designs meet consumer needs and cost parameters through market research and cost engineering. Degner attributes her professional success to her father, whose passion for leadership and global travel inspired her from a young age, and she often consults him for guidance. She values honesty, transparency, creativity, and growth above all, and advises young women entering the industry to dive in without waiting to feel ready, say yes to opportunities outside their comfort zone, and trust their instincts and teams.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Alexandra
01What do you attribute your success to?
My father. From a young age, seeing how passionate he was about his role. He got to travel the world, and he got to lead teams, and even as a young kid, I was like, oh, I want to do that. He's always the first person that I consult if I'm ever in the weeds with something, or if I just want even encouragement.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Don't wait until you feel ready because there's never going to be a right time to just dive in. You just kinda gotta do it. Biggest growth in my career has just been saying yes even if it's an opportunity that feels like it's outside my comfort zone, just saying yes and trusting my gut and trusting my team. If you feel creatively that something's either right or wrong, definitely just trust your instincts and go for it.
03What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Biggest challenge is making sure you are putting the consumer first. It doesn't matter how great of an idea you have if the consumer's not gonna buy it and it's not commercially viable. Learning how to work with constraints without losing your original creative vision. Opportunities include stepping outside the traditional role of designers, leading projects, thinking strategically and creatively, putting left and right brain together.
04What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Honesty is the biggest one because it's like, I have to be honest with my team, they have to be honest with me. Honesty is really what is going to build a great foundation, personally and professionally. Transparency, creativity because creativity is really the engine that's gonna keep everything running. Growth - I'm very driven, I don't really want to ever become complacent, always looking to learn and for the next thing.
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