Alumna rose from sales rep to CEO, now helping students see where their own education can lead
Samantha Howington (‘06) knew a fashion degree could lead to a career designing clothes, but as it turned out, she was more interested in everything that happened before those clothes reached a customer.
Who would make them? Where would the fabric come from? What would they cost to produce?
Those questions carried Howington from studying fashion design and merchandising at O’More College of Design (now Belmont’s O’More College of Architecture & Design) to a career in sourcing, manufacturing and sales. She eventually became CEO of blc TEXTILES, where she helped lead the effort to establish and grow a manufacturing operation in Cambodia, expanding its workforce from 100 to 2,500 employees.
“I think a lot of kids assume when they go to O’More that they have to be fashion designers,” Howington said. “But there are so many opportunities in the apparel space in all kinds of capacities.”
Finding Her Way into Workwear
Howington studied at O’More’s downtown Franklin campus, where merchandising appealed to her more than design. The program still required her to complete a senior collection, which meant getting comfortable with a sewing machine.
“I didn’t even know how to thread the thing,” she recalled.
The creative work was challenging, but it pushed her to approach problems in ways she might not have otherwise. At the same time, she was beginning to recognize how she wanted to use her degree.
Jamie Atlas, now O’More’s assistant dean of professional engagement and professor of fashion, connected Howington with an internship at VF Imagewear, the business now known as Workwear Outfitters. Howington stayed there for six years.
“Jamie always cared about what our goals were,” Howington said. “She definitely got me started on that path.”
Howington began in merchandising before moving into sourcing and manufacturing. She worked on the FedEx uniform program and apparel for automotive dealership maintenance teams, including those associated with General Motors, Ford and Volvo.
It was a different side of apparel from the one people usually imagined when she told them what she had studied. “Whenever you’re looking at workwear, it’s usually not very glamorous,” she said. “It is institutional and very high volume.” She tried to find the creative side anyway.
The job also opened her eyes to a massive industry beyond everyday retail, and it showed her how much the technical design classes at O’More counted. Yield and costing depended on those details, as did how long a product took to make. When a company was making thousands of the same item, they added up.
Discovering a Bigger Industry
In 2009, Howington’s next move took her to CSCNetwork, a buying group serving commercial laundries. She first encountered the industry using her VF Imagewear workwear apparel lens, and as purchasing manager, she quickly saw how large the industry was outside of workwear apparel. Anything used in a hospital, hotel or restaurant that doesn’t get thrown away has to be washed, and someone has to supply it. She had to understand every item a commercial laundry bought, from surgical towels, bath towels and sheets to table linens, aprons and napkins.
“I realized there’s way more industry out there other than just uniforms,” she said.
The role expanded her understanding of procurement and supply chains. It also introduced her to a linen company that was hoping to recruit her. It was based in New York, and she had no interest in leaving Tennessee. She eventually said yes, however, joining Baltic Linen in 2012 as a regional sales manager. Two years later, the company split in two. Its institutional, health care and commercial laundry division became blc TEXTILES, and Howington stayed with that division throughout her textile career.
From Sales Rep to CEO
Howington describes herself as outspoken and determined. As her sales grew, she kept investing in herself and the business, moving through leadership roles at blc TEXTILES in sales, marketing and business development before becoming chief revenue officer and, in January 2025, CEO.
“It was really fun to take it from being a sales rep all the way to running the company,” she said.
She also held executive roles with Cambodian Textiles Worldwide, the company’s wholly owned subsidiary in Cambodia. Vertically integrated, the businesses supplied textiles for customers in industries including hospitality, healthcare, food service, and workwear. The Cambodian factory shipped about nine containers of apparel a week. With six distribution centers in the U.S. offering same-day or next-day service, she could follow a product from specifying the yarn and raw materials to a finished item in a box serving the customer.
“To literally see something being made from a roll of fabric all the way through,” she said. “It was a wild, fun, incredible experience.”
Her fashion education proved useful throughout her textile career, from creating CAD drawings for clients to reading technical specifications and calculating how much fabric a product required and what it would cost to make. At the Cambodian factory, her sewing knowledge also helped her team develop jigs — guides that hold fabric in place while it’s sewn — to produce garments faster and more efficiently.
Tackling a New Industry
Howington stepped away from the textile industry in March 2026 to join her husband, Randy Howington, at Howington Construction, their custom homebuilding business in the Nashville area. As chief operating officer and co-owner, she oversees financial management, business operations, team accountability and the client design selections process. Being a licensed real estate affiliate broker, she can even help clients find the lot or sell their existing home. In homebuilding, as in textiles, she has made a habit of following a project from the first step to the last.
This career shift brought her into another industry represented at O’More, where architecture, interior design and fashion students are preparing for their own careers. When Atlas asked her to join the advisory board, Howington needed to know which seat she’d take.
“Do you want me there to represent fashion, interior design or architecture?” She recalled asking. “Because I’ve played in all of those spaces.”
Passing the Torch
Howington joined the board this September, representing fashion, and is eager to jump in wherever the college needs her.
For Howington, passing the torch means helping students discover career paths they may not know exist. She wants to connect students interested in business, manufacturing and sourcing with opportunities in the textile rental and workwear industries. Drawing on the relationships she has built throughout her career, she hopes to introduce students to businesses and industry leaders who can help them take their first steps into the workplace.
“There’s so much opportunity in this industry that students may never hear about,” Howington said. “I want to use my connections and experience to help them see what’s possible and open doors for the next generation.”
O’More now offers a Fashion Business and Design Leadership major that formalizes the kind of path Howington built on her own, and she’s excited about the endless opportunities it presents for students.
“This degree can take you anywhere, from retail to healthcare,” she said. “It applies to so many things.”
Her participation in O’More’s mentorship program offers another way to help students. At the time of her interview, she was preparing to meet her student mentee and learn about the student’s personal, professional and financial goals. “Regardless of your industry, you need someone to look up to,” she said, “because it’s not easy when you’re getting started.”
That belief has stayed with her throughout her career. Howington still works with a professional coach, and she encourages the young staff at Howington Construction to seek mentors, set goals and hold themselves accountable.
“Even as you continue to have success,” she said, “it's still so valuable to have someone pushing you to be better.”
Through both roles, she hopes to harness the breadth of her experience to help students connect what they are learning with the possibilities ahead — just as Atlas helped her find the opportunity that launched her own career.
Learn more about fashion at Belmont