We catch up with the winner of Project Runway’s ninth season, Anya Ayoung-Chee, in New York City, the morning after her big win. She’s already appeared on Good Morning America and is managing her time as she tries to keep in pace with her many interview requests.

Ayoung-Chee is no stranger to SO and, thankfully, adds us to her already exhaustive list.

“I’m still pinching myself,” she shares. “It’s kind of like an outer-body experience…unbelievable.”

No idle boast really, from the woman whose distinct Trini lilt remains as memorable as the moment she dyed the jumpsuit and found favour with Nina Garcia.

Ayoung-Chee sees the win as validation in her “determination to follow her dreams”. Seems the risk was worth it, after all, for the young woman who came back from Vietnam where she represented her country as Miss Universe 2008 but did not return with the crown. A leaked tape scandal would follow leaving her trying to pick up the pieces. This she has done with, according to her, “a calm confidence and resilience that did not go unnoticed”.

Our collective hearts sank when Heidi shared that on Tim Gunn’s arrival in the Twin Isalnd Republic the designer hadn’t even commenced the collection. This was not because the designer spent her days and nights lyming. Not at all. “On my return to Trinidad I had no idea that my participation in Project Runway was seen as such a big deal! I was overwhelmed. Truth be told, too, I had completed three outfits that were awful and I couldn’t show them to Gunn.

“By the time I showed at New York Fashion Week I felt at ease, there was comfort in knowing that I had done my best. I felt that I had also come full circle and left the ‘baggage’ behind.”

She has, indeed! Silencing, too, the belief that a Caribbean designer cannot deliver at a high level. Our designer stuck to her roots and her inspiration even while heeding the words of Michael Kors, that we don’t all wear caftans.

“I will be moving in a new direction — think the Bird Challenge — I will push my range.”

What’s next for the Project Runway winner?

A trip to Jamaica, “her silent favourite spot”; more retail presence in the United States; a boutique in Trinidad by Christmas; a section in the band at next year’s Carnival; and to launch a Micro Finance Loan in Trinidad for design students.

There’s a lot on her plate, but for one who learnt to sew in a few months and turned around and won a major competition and charmed Heidi, Michael and Nina, we reckon she’ll continue to stitch — one at a time.