He has styled Adam Lambert and Tyra Banks.

The "Godfather Of Singapore Fashion" has worked with Jean Paul Gaultier and Louis Vuitton.

But 26 years ago, Daniel Boey (right) was just an excited Geography student at the National University of Singapore who worked as an usher at the 1987 Miss Universe pageant.

Boey, 47, says: "I just wanted to be part of something huge and historic."

It may sound strange now given his stellar career, but Boey was not even interested in fashion when he was a 21-year-old student. And what he saw at the pageant did not spark his interest either.

"The gowns were hideous - so many ruffles," he says.

"I volunteered just to get up close and personal with the ladies."

So he would chat up the contestants during production breaks.

"I didn't stalk them. But I would hang around the places where they ate and talked to them. Everyone was gorgeous."

How did he feel when Singapore's Marion Nicole Teo placed in the Top 10?

"I was extremely surprised, but very happy and excited. But I couldn't really show it since I was an usher," says Boey.

The only other Singaporean who made it to the Top 10 was Ms Kathie Lee, who placed eighth in 1983.

Get The New Paper for more stories.