Triumph Inspiration Award 2009 * The global lingerie design competition heads into its second round, this year under the motto of "Icons"

Creative young talents from around the globe have been called upon to unleash their inspiration under the guidance of the design motto "Icons." The aim is to interpret an icon they have freely selected on their own and then create a one-of-a-kind design showpiece made up of one bra and one pair of briefs.

Just as in 2008, this year's prizes will include a good deal of money for first place, 15,000 Euros, along with an opportunity to adapt the winning design together with the Triumph design team into a commercial underwear set. This set will be delivered on a hanger date in 2010 to Triumph stores around the world as a limited line. Second and third place winners will go home with 10,000 and 5,000 Euros respectively. All national winners will receive a chance to take part in the International Finals during the Milan Fashion Week.

International Finals in Milan in the presence of an expert jury

The winner of the Triumph Inspiration Award will be announced in September 2009 at the International Finals during the Milan Fashion Week. All competition participants will have pre-qualified themselves for the Finals in Milan at their own national competitions.

Triumph Inspiration Award as a launching pad for a professional career

With the Triumph Inspiration Award initiated in 2008, Triumph wants to offer young design talents a launching pad for a possible professional career in the lingerie industry. The annual student competition stands under a variety of design mottos and honours creative and innovative submissions from the underwear line. It then enables winners to sell a limited series of their designs at Triumph stores. In 2008, a jury made up of designer duo Viktor and Rolf, famous international model Helena Christensen, celebrated photographer Ellen von Unwerth, Chief Purchasing Officer and Creative Director Sarah from colette, top Chinese model Lv Yen and Jan Rosenberg from Triumph decided to give the award to the design "Under Skin" by Midori Matsuo of Japan. The commercial version of this design will be available at selected Triumph stores around the world starting in August.

"Dealing with trends from art, culture, fashion and lifestyle that we depict anew in every collection is part of our daily work. After the impressive results in 2008, we are especially pleased to be able to share our enthusiasm for the lingerie sector with talented young designers this year as well and invite them to discover the exciting world of lingerie for themselves," says Jan Rosenberg, Global Head of Sales and Marketing for Triumph International.

Triumph International is one of the world's largest manufacturers of underwear. With its major brands Triumph(R), sloggi(R), Valisere(R) and HOM(R), the company distributes its products in more than 120 countries. Triumph employs a staff of more than 43,000 and posts sales of 2.5 billion Swiss Francs (2007).

Contact:

Karin Lukarsch

Phone: +49 (0)89 5111-8339