Philadelphian Kate Spray’s flirty, free-spirited design, earned her first place in 2008's Be Discovered: Design a Dress competition as well as a trip to New York City and an apprenticeship in Adam Lippes’ studio.

Although not yet a household name, the 25-year old Ohio-native is well versed in style: She studied Fashion at Kent State University before landing her current gig at Anthropologie, where she sharpens her tailoring skills as a Design Assistant. “I entered the contest because I had something to prove to myself,” she says. When it came time to design her Be Discovered dress, Spray channeled her inner hippie to create a neo-boho frock, putting a modern spin on patchwork quilting by fashioning her shift out of silk, organic cotton and linen squares.

“Ever since I turned in the dress I've been thinking every day ‘Am I going to win? What are the judges going to think?’,” says Spray, “When I received the phone call about winning I couldn't believe it. I tried my best not to yell into the receiver because I didn't want to deafen the Glam staff on the other end!”

In addition to Glam’s staff, our esteemed judges were thrilled by Spray’s design. “Good use of textures and color tonality,” notes Monique Lhuillier, “It's a very wearable dress, good for spring and the contemporary customer.” Meanwhile, her new mentor Adam Lippes applauded her ability to fuse form and function: “Very wearable and interesting use of color blocking and appliqué detail.”

“I'm really looking forward to meeting Adam Lippes,” the Be Discovered winner says, “I always love to hear where people have been, what challenges they've faced, and how they got their start. Hearing about other designers lives' always fascinates me and gives me the extra encouragement to stay focused.” By the looks of it, we’d say Spray has plenty of focus—and talent—to spare.