Persistence pays off for designer Titipon Chitsantisook, who takes the top prize in an international competition

Titipon Chitsantisook failed for five consecutive years to win the Onward New Designer Fashion Grand Prix. But stubbornness finally paid off last year.

"Losing never got me down," he says. "I just thought, 'I have to be better next year!'"

Armed with a Thai government scholarship, the 27-year-old Chulalongkorn University graduate is now pursuing his master's degree in international fashion design at the Institut Francais de la Mode in Paris.

He came across the Japan-based Onward competition six years ago and kept on entering until he became the fourth Thai to win it - no easy feat with more than 13,000 designers from all over the world submitting sketches.

His "Infinity" was a knee-length, sleeveless, black chiffon dress with silver embroidery and dots. Titipon says every square centimetre was a work of art: he sewed every silver line into the cloth himself.

"The dress looked like it was moving all the time, even when the model stood still."

Included in the final 30 candidates for the prize, Titipon still wasn't confident as he flew to Japan for the finals.

"The winner in 2007 was also a Thai. I didn't think they'd let another designer from the same country win again."

The thrill of victory

As the models walked onstage wearing the finalists' creations, the judges' points were electronically displayed, Olympics style. "Infinity" scored 86 points, and no one else came close.

Titipon believes the relative simplicity of his creation was a big plus.

"Because this is a contest for single outfits, not collections, some people try to get all their ideas into that one piece, which is too much," he says. "It should be extravagant, but not over the top."

He wasn't initially schooled in design, but reckons that helped too. "I think and conceptualise differently. And studying comparative literature helps you to understand human nature - it offers inspirations that other designers might not have."

Titipon is determined to become a university lecturer back home as well as launching his own clothing brand.