For eight other designers winning Project Runway has been the supreme career stepping stone. Anya Ayoung Chee doesn't sidestep the fact that for her it's also something of a redemption. Her Season Nine run has been a narrative of talent, tenacity and the advantages of being Trini. But there'd always been a subtext: she was the beauty queen with the scandal in her not-too-distant-past. Asked whether the sex tape episode gave her pause before embarking on this journey Ayoung Chee countered that it actually gave her strength.

"The experience really taught me a lot," she said. "I feel that without it I probably wouldn't have pushed myself as hard. I had to learn to love myself again after the tape was released and I did a lot of internal work. Without that experience I probably wouldn't have gotten here. It has come up mostly because I bring it up myself and most people treat the issue with a level of respect so that it's usually worth the conversation. There are often people who will only see you how they choose to see you but this experience has allowed me to be seen in another way."

And it all started with a whim. Ayoung Chee had long enjoyed the reality show and decided this year to challenge herself by applying. She did a video and sent some photos of her work. By that point she already had three collections under her belt. She wasn't particularly optimistic but felt that she had nothing to lose. Her famously little sewing experience turned out to be this season's dominant theme. Ayoung Chee enlisted the help of Delia Alleyne, a final year fashion design student at the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT), to give her a crash course.

"She has a real aptitude for imparting knowledge. She's a good seamstress and designer with potential for being one of the next new talents coming out of T&T. We did think about what I would have to do on the show," Ayoung Chee said. For four months she spent 12-hour days at UTT in something of a grand ratch. They went straight to industrial machines and skipped much of the foundation, learning advanced skills and short cuts. The long days and just-get-it-done discipline of this training prepared her for the rigour of Runway.

Ayoung Chee denied that she approached the show with a strategy in terms of making alliances and leveraging her inexperience into a compelling story line. And no, she has no idea what's being said in the blogosphere about her and her supposed tactics.

"I never do (read comments online). I just think it is unnecessary. I know what happened. I was there. I don't need to know what anybody else thinks about it. That's not to dismiss the reaction but I'm more conscious of what I was trying to do," she said pointedly. "I really felt grateful at every single point to still be there. I enjoyed the process, I enjoyed making things and I enjoyed the challenges. When people question whether I've really only just learned to sew I see that as a roundabout compliment. That only makes me feel a little bit more proud of myself. I was just friendly. We are friendly people. I come from a place that is very open and warm. By virtue of Trinidad life and my upbringing I was able to make friends on the show. That's not something I decided to be to do well in a competition."

At first she hoped not to embarrass herself but as the weeks wore on she slowly began to realise that she was a main competitor. In fact Ayoung Chee said that the possibility of taking the title only crystallised after winning the bird challenge which aired on the 11th week. What does she make of the fact that from the start she was a favourite of the judges?

"I couldn't put my finger on it. It was something intangible. I can't rewind and find a moment to cause it. I didn't say anything fantastic. Maybe it is the sum of it all. I was honest. It would have been more predictable to sort of brush over the lack of skills. I didn't pretend about what I was laying on the table," she reflected. In the moment she didn't perceive a bias. Looking at the show and hearing her competitors' feedback, however, she acknowledges "potential favouritism". Was she graded on a curve?

"If someone really did learn to do something they are demonstrating aptitude for that is also to be commended," Ayoung Chee said. "It can be seen both ways". The journey is helping her to realise a goal that at one time seemed far-fetched. Ayoung Chee had at first pursued an education and career in graphic design. That skill set served her well on the Runway. She said that she never second guessed her fabric choices. There were moments of doubt, however, when it came to her breezy Caribbean style. That's what she resolved during the two days between her near elimination and her final showing at New York Fashion Week.

"I've learned how to be a designer with a Caribbean aesthetic that could design for another market. I don't have to lose me in all of it. I learned that our aesthetic is something to be proud of. It's saleable. It has a real commercial audience. I don't have to bend myself into contortions to make it in the real world. That is incredibly validating and a huge relief to me," she reflected.

Ayoung Chee also won the Fan Favourite award which was determined by online voting. She is using the prize money to set up a micro-financing fund for young people with dreams of creative careers.

"I want to support the dream and dispel the idea that it's not viable to be creative. You don't have to be creative on the side. It's just as valid as being a doctor, lawyer or engineer. I want to build a programme that not only gives money but teaches people how to build a structure that makes sense. Ideally I want it to be a mentorship programme that allows for what Meiling has been for me. I couldn't have done it without guidance and support. It is important that we all step up and be that for young people," she explained.

What's next for Ayoung Chee? Lots. She's developing an online retail store, will have products on sale in New York and hopes to open a boutique in Trinidad by year's end. She's building a full fashion brand including accessories, fragrance and clothes. And she even hinted at designing a section for a Carnival band next year.

"All my life I've endeavoured to be the best of something for someone else. This was the first experience of my life where I did something for me," she reflected. "And it really paid off."