My life is basically over because two of my favorite shows, Project Runway and Top Chef: Just Desserts, chose their winners this week. I’m going to have to find something else to do with my life, but I’m pretty okay about the outcome of Project Runway this time.

*Spoiler alert.* The winner of this ninth project runway competition was twenty-nine year old Anya Ayoung-Chee, a former Miss Universe contestant from Trinidad and Tobago. Throughout the season, she created Caribbean-inspired dresses with flowing hemlines and tropical colors. The judges thought she had an eye for putting patterns together that was unmatched by any other contestant.

Anya was sort of a wild card at the beginning of the show. At her original judging, she told the panel that she had only been sewing for four months before she applied to be a contestant. Judges Michael Kors and Nina Garcia were willing to give Anya a chance, but Heidi Klum seemed like she wanted to eliminate Anya from the get-go. Tim Gunn convinced Heidi that Anya would fall on her face fast enough during the competitions if her sewing skills weren’t strong enough.

However, Anya didn’t fall on her face, but somehow had the miraculous ability to construct a piece of clothing just by visualizing it. I don’t even know how this is possible. How does one envision a pair of pants, and then know how to construct them? I can envision the Eiffel Tower, but it doesn’t mean that I have the know-how to build it. Regardless, Anya put out some stunning and versatile looks, and she became an early fan favorite for her sweet nature and enviable personal style.

Her final collection wasn’t particularly versatile, however. She had a lot of great dresses, but almost all of them would only be wearable if you lived on a beach in Trinidad and Tobago. They were all beautifully patterned, and the patterns provided some diversity, but—as Heidi pointed out—almost all of the outfits had the same plunging v-neck cut. Anya showed more versatility of climate wearability during the season, rather than during the final show, and that, I think, was really what won it for her.

It’s still difficult to accept Anya’s win. While I really loved her clothes and thought she was a sweet girl, there’s something to be said about paying one’s dues. Her clothes were not as well-constructed as her competitors' clothes, nor did she understand the struggle to continue creating fashion that generally improves one’s art.

Do you think that Anya deserved to win even though she hadn’t paid her fashion dues?