As part of the Fashion and Textiles Class of 2009 activities at London's Royal College of Art (RCA), Thierry Mugler recently sponsored the perfume competition initiated by International Flavors & Fragrance (IFF).

In a statement, the company said: ‘The prestigious Royal College of Art trains some of the most talented artists and designers, such as Ron Arad, James Dyson and Philip Treacy, who lead the way in the trends of the future. For fifteen years, International Flavors & Fragrances has been uniting the worlds of fashion and fragrance at the heart of the RCA.

‘Each year, IFF sponsors the RCA and works with its Fashion and Textile Department. Students receive training in the perfume universe in a series of three conferences led by a senior IFF perfumer. In addition, IFF organizes an annual perfume competition. This year – and for the first time – IFF partnered with a brand and invited Thierry Mugler, internationally renowned in both the fashion and perfume fields.

‘More than 40 students took part in the competition, rivaling each other in creativity to come up with 'The Thierry Mugler perfume of the future': its universe, image, bottle and icon.’

The company said that the projects required three months of work before being presented to a panel of judges composed of several representatives of IFF and Thierry Mugler.

It added: ‘Eleven finalists, who shined for the creativity, consistency and esthetics of their creations, were selected. The 2009 winner, Collette Paterson, won over the judges with her wealth of ideas and the subtlety, consistency and originality of her project: a realization with unique, affirmed esthetics, between the imaginary and reality, in the imprint of the Thierry Mugler signature.’

To reward these talents, a six-month internship at Thierry Mugler and a ?2,000 ($3,258) prize were awarded to the winner, and a six-month internship and a ?500 ($815) prize went to the runner up. Further prizes of ?500 were awarded to each of the other nine finalists.