Huishan Zhang wins the Dorchester Collection Fashion Prize 2013

We thought Huishan Zhang seemed quietly confident when we interviewed him in the run-up to the Dorchester Collection Fashion Priz3 2013 final. Turns out, his coolness was an omen: last night, he was awarded the grand prize.

Describing the moment as unreal, the London-based one-to-watch who bags a £25,000 prize, as well as one-to-one mentoring and a break at one of the Collections hotels told us: Its recognition at an international level. Its support like this that encourages me to carry on with my dream. Literally, it means so much to me.

My dream is to make couture alive again, to modernise it, to make it accessible again. Its for a woman who appreciates modernity and craftsmanship.

Its a vision that sat well with the judging panel among them, some of the industrys most high-profile influencers, including Stephen Jones, Stephen Webster, Rupert Sanderson, Daniella Helayel and Caroline Issa who almost unanimously decreed Zhang the victor.

He showed a catwalk collection that featured a good mix of past and present, really showing the continuation of the brand from where we started, alongside specially-edited collections from fellow finalists Emilia Wickstead, Barbara Casasola and Fyodor Golan before the panel retired to thrash out the result.

And fitting the Dorchester Collection brief on the night was really what it came down to, Jones told us.

What it means is something which is refined and elegant, something creative, and Huishan really summed that up, he said.

Check out Zhangs application video, below, to see where it all started.