TEAM Singapore missed out on being placed in the top three at the Triumph Inspiration Award show held in London on Sept 16, but we still emerged a winner.
Our representative piece did not make it to the winner's podium, but it did make it onto the body of British singer Cheryl Cole.
The former soccer WAG, a style icon in the UK and one of the country's top singers, wore the outfit in her latest music video for the single Promise This.
The Singapore entry, called Preserved Beauty, was a structured Egyptian inspired piece with a skirt made out of stockings.
Cole's video has been seen at least 235,000 times on YouTube.
Seeing her creation on Cole was thrilling for Singapore winner Grace Sugiarto, 22.
She is a third year fashion design student at the Raffles Design Institute. Ms Sugiarto didn't know about it until she returned home.
Unexpected
She said: "I found out only when Triumph posted the video on its Facebook page. It was so unexpected."
Ms Sugiarto added: "It was thrilling to watch her dance in my creation. It was perfect on her."
Seeing her creation worn by a top pop star was balm after the loss.
She said: "I was hoping to get into the top three, but it was a blessing that Cheryl Cole wore my design."
The Triumph Inspiration Award 2010 show was held on the eve of the London Fashion Week.
A panel of six judges, including supermodel Helena Christensen, entertainer Karen Mok and designer Matthew Williamson, picked Nikolay Bojilov from Bulgaria for the top prize from a field of 27 entries.
Second place went to Spain and Italy came in third.
The glitzy show had about 500 in attendance, including singer Alexandra Burke and the international media.
It's the third year of this competition, organised by lingerie brand Triumph International.
It's a contest for students to come up with winning designs based on a theme. This year's theme was Shape Sensation.
The result was a myriad of inspired designs that ranged from the elegant - such as a cocoon-like piece from Sweden - to the futuristic, like the entry from China.
Ms Sugiarto was gracious in defeat and thought the winning design was worthy.
She said: "It really shaped the body well with all the intricate lines."
