Tastemaker: Quang Trong Quang Nhat poses with models wearing his creations. — Photo vcmedia.vn

HA NOI  (VNS) — HCM City-based designer Quang Trong Quang Nhat has become the first winner of the Vietnamese version of Fashion Star TV reality show.

The native of Tien Giang Province was awarded a cash prize of VND300 million (US$14,500), a contract valued at VND700 million and a trip to France, along with the top four winners.

"I am still so excited and surprised at my victory," Nhat said after the awards ceremony on Saturday, "I don't know what to say now, but want to send my sincere thanks to everyone supporting me and my collection. I will give part of my award to charity, which is my other interest, besides fashion.

Also, investor Luu Nga, representing fashion franchise Elise, and designer Minh Hanh, who was also a jury member for the contest, will sponsor a trip to South Korea and Italy for the top five winners.

For the final show, the top three contestants, including Nhat, Tang Thanh Cong (from HCM City) and Ha Duy (from Ha Noi), had to design six outfits within a week, using the theme: "I am Me".

Those are the names of the three final collections: "I am Quang Trong Quang Nhat," "I am Tang Thanh Cong" and "I am Ha Duy".

The jury members then went to markets to choose materials for the three contestants, as the jury expected the designers to express their own creative styles and meet the taste of customers. The designers were required to use at least 30 per cent of the jury's materials.

Nhat's collection won the audience's heart with diversified designs representing the changes in seasons. Cong's collection focused on young designs with striking colours of red, white, orange and patterns of stripes and checked lines. Duy, in the mean time, did not use the materials the jury provided. He was somewhat "put off" by the jury's question in the final show, which brought him the fewest marks, in comparison with the other two designers.

"I highly appreciate collections by Nhat and Cong," Nguyen Vu Anh, general director of Ivy Moda Fashion franchise, one of three investors in the show, told Viet Nam News.

The other two investors were Lynk and Elise fashion franchises. "While Nhat expresses a profound and romantic soul through his designs, Cong reveals his youth and energy through his combination of patterns and colours," said Anh.

Vu Anh bought Cong's collection for VND500 million, a record price during the ten live shows.

"If I have the right to award marks, and I would give Nhat and Cong 9 points on a scale of 10 points," Anh said.

The Vietnamese version of the American-origin reality show started with 11 contestants and live broadcasts every Saturday for the past 10 weeks.

Three investors, representing Ivy Moda, Lynk and Elise, accompanied the jury to provide comments and purchase collections that appealed to them, as a way of encouraging the contestants, as well as to provide excitement during the show. — VNS