Young, talented Triumph Inspiration Award SA winner, Petro Nieuwoudt, will soon be off to Beijing to compete against designers from all over the world in the international version of the competition, which challenges upcoming designers to create visionary lingerie which will end up on shelves everywhere.

We spoke to Petro about her designs, dreams and the fashion industry in general...

I am interested to know, what made you want to become a lingerie/fashion designer?

Fashion is a constant revolution. It has always helped to define the human condition and designers are the weathermen predicting or foreseeing what the public will need, providing a wardrobe to protect, expose or purely entertain.

This is what makes the business of fashion so fascinating. We are enthralled by the theatre of everyday life. Some act but most people just enjoy watching. Fashion provides us with the fantasies that feed our dreams. With fashion we can select our roles, and never before has there been such a vast selection.

Creating new and beautiful things has always been something that I love and enjoy doing, and fashion is a way of sharing my approach to life with a broader audience.

What does winning this competition mean to you?

The Triumph Inspiration Award has granted me with the perfect opportunity to experience a bit more of the fashion industry in relation to underwear, and through this experience gain more knowledge with regard to the construction and significance of this garment.

It also helps me to gain more exposure and to meet important people from the fashion industry. It is a great honor to be the national winner of this global competition.

Tell us a bit about yourself, where you studied and so on…

I am 21 years old and currently studying at Cape Peninsula University of Technology. Apart from fashion design, I am also very interested in the magazine world, and so, as part of my topic for my BTech I'll be designing and publishing a magazine which mainly focuses on creating a platform for young designers and artists in South Africa, across all genres.

Where do you see yourself in future — working for a big brand like Triumph or going it solo like Ruby, for example?

To be honest, at the moment I'm quite open to anything — working for a big brand, or going solo. I'll see where the path leads me. Both will be a big challenge and will be very enlightening and I'll enjoy doing either one. But I guess, secretly, it's every designer's dream to own their own label and to be their own boss. It just comes with so much more creative freedom (which can be a bad thing as well)!

What in your mind is the essence or the key ingredient in designing the ultimate 'it' lingerie product?

It is essential to take function and comfort into consideration at all times. It is after all the garment that is most personal and closest to our body. It is definitely also important that all style lines complement the natural form of the female body.

Your winning design is very simple yet innovative. Tell us why you went for this design and how do you think it's 'forward-thinking' as the judges said?

My designs have always represented the avant-garde, drawing heavily on the underground art, music and film world for inspiration. My designs speak in a language that is utterly and unapologetically modern. Dark, downtown aesthetic is translated into inky hued knit separates that achieve an unexpected artful minimalism, with easy, simple fits.

Can you comment on SA design at the moment? Do you think SA design is up there with the best and do SA designers have access to the global marketplace?

South African fashion today depends on ideas, individuality and authenticity. Now more than ever, local designers are looking to their roots, where they began, who they are, why they do what they are doing... where their values lie.

I think SA designers will always be influenced by the international market and trends. Inspiration comes from everywhere, and daily one is bombarded by images of international trends, so it is inevitable. But what is important, is to take these influences and create something truly unique and appropriate to our local market, rather than to detach ourselves completely from the bigger picture.

With interest in the local fashion industry continuing to increase, so is the competition, and so are the opportunities. The intricacies of the fashion world are both numerous and precise, and the only sure way of gaining the upper hand in this competitive market is to make it happen! You really have to know what works, have a vision and stand by it.