Anya's collection, which is inspired by Tobago, gets praises from judges for its prints and theme although she initially thought her new looks were not the best of her work.
- Oct 28, 2011
AceShowbiz - Anya Ayoung-Chee has been named the champion of "Project Runway" season 9, beating out three other remaining contestants. The 29-year-old designer initially looked like she almost gave up her shot at winning the coveted title as she told Tim Gunn that she was not 100 percent happy with her collection.
Earlier in the second part of the finale, the four finalists were given a shopping spree at Mood with a $500 budget. Anya and Viktor Luna used this opportunity to rework some of their designs. The former picked white and black fabrics which did not fit the original color pattern of her collection, while the latter scrapped his gown for a new sexy black cheetah print fitted dress.
When Tim visited Anya, she admitted that she felt her new looks were not the best of her work. Meanwhile, Joshua McKinley became frustrated when he still had a lot of work to do two days before the runway show. Kimberly Goldson created a drama backstage at Fashion Week when she lost her sewing kit and needed a zipper. Fortunately, Anya was there to give her a hand.
The four finalists finally showed their collections at the Fashion Week in Lincoln Center. Kimberly had a Brooklyn-themed collection which was fairly accessible and wearable. Next was Josh's which was dedicated to his mother, but Tim thought he did not seem to be trying to give his best with it.
Viktor's collection was inspired by Mexico, but it is still wearable in New York City as he described it beach girl meets city. Anya's, meanwhile, was inspired by Tobago and oozed easy, sexy vibe.
After some considerations, the judges narrowed down the potential winners to Anya and Josh. In the end, the judges decided that Anya deserved the champion title as they thought they could picture what a future Anya shoe or bag or dress might look like. She took home $100,000 from L'Oreal Paris, a fashion spread in Marie Claire, a $50,000 technology suite by HP and Intel and the opportunity to design and sell a collection on Piperlime.com.
