Inspiring Lingerie - Triumph awards Midori Matsuo, 20, Japan, for the most inspiring lingerie design at the international final of the Triumph Inspiration Award ’08 in Beijing

Viktor & Rolf, Helena Christensen, Ellen von Unwerth, Sarah from colette,Lv Yan and Jan Rosenberg among the high profile judging panel to choose thewinner

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Beijing (China) July 31st (PROTEXT/ots) - On July 31st, fashion and designstudents from 31 countries and regions around the world, presented theirshowpieces to the world in a fabulous catwalk show at the TriumphInspiration Award ’08 in Beijing. An inspiring expert judging panel,consisting of the Dutch design duo Viktor & Rolf; Danish top model HelenaChristensen; German fashion photography icon Ellen von Unwerth; colette’schief purchaser and creative director Sarah from Colette, and Chinese topmodel and actress Lv Yan together with Triumph’s Jan Rosenberg, came to thedecision which design piece deserves to be called the most inspired, andinspiring, of them all in 2008. Awarded their prizes by gold-medallistLinford Christie and actress Michelle Lee, the show was a true spectacle inpre-Olympic Beijing.

Midori Matsuo, 20, Japan, convinced the judging panel to be the winner ofthe Triumph Inspiration Award ’08 with the design “Under Skin“ and willpocket not only a cash prize of Euro 15,000 but also a career boostinglimited edition of the winning piece. Midori Matsuo, 20, Japan, will seethe showpiece adapted and interpreted by the Triumph design team, leadingto series production of the set and would be sold in selected Triumphstores worldwide.Theresa Bachler, 21, Germany, with the design “Once Upon aTime…“ will receive Euro 10,000 and Stine Fagervik-Rosen, 28, Norway, with“Desire for Beautiful Trash“ will receive Euro 5,000.

All finalists from Europe, Africa, Asia, Latin America and Oceania met andcompeted in pre-Olympic Beijing on July 31st, 2008, at the avant-garde 798Art Zone situated in the Dashanzi Area. Here in Beijing’s bohemian quarter,the final was celebrated in the Factory Hall 706, which will be home toSwitzerland’s National House during the Olympic Period, the >House ofSwitzerland<.

At the grand final of the Triumph Inspiration Award ’08, all competingfinalists were under the scrutiny of the demanding juries. Theinternational jury judged all entries according to the same criteria:innovation and creativity in interpreting the design theme „femalefascination“, individuality and uniqueness, concept, aesthetics, quality indesign and execution, as well as presentation. “What we love most is thefact that the students were asked to free themselves of the commercial sideof things - almost no restraints were put on their creativity“, statedViktor & Rolf.

The grand final the Triumph Inspiration Award, inaugurated this year, is aglobal design competition created by the lingerie specialist TriumphInternational. The Award challenges students from prestigious internationaldesign schools to create a conceptual showpiece-set, comprising of anunder-wired bra and brief, dedicated to the design motto for 2008: „FemaleFascination“.

Triumph International is one of the world’s largest underwearmanufacturers. The company enjoys a presence in over 120 countries with itscore brands Triumph(R), sloggi(R), Valisere(R) and HOM(R). Triumph employsmore than 43,000 people and achieves a turnover of CHF 2.5 billion (2007).

http://www.triumph-inspiration-award.com

http://www.triumphinspirationaward.com

For more information please contact: karin.lukarsch@triumph.com or call:+491719751293

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