Marie Claire and Glam.com today announced that Orean Collier from Chattanooga, Tennessee is the national winner of the Be Discovered: Design a Handbag Competition. Ms. Collier, a self-taught artist and single mother, created her winning design to honor the memory of her grandmother. After submitting a sketch of her handbag design to Glam.com, Ms. Collier became one of eight finalists chosen by more than 50,000 Glam.com votes. A panel of fashion industry experts then viewed prototypes of the finalists' handbag entries and selected the winning design.


As winner of the Glam.com/Marie Claire Be Discovered: Design a Handbag Competition, Ms. Collier will travel to New York where she will serve as "Accessories Editor for a day" with Marie Claire magazine and stay in a top New York hotel.


"My eye went straight to Orean's handbag - it's a clear winner," said Joanna Coles, editor in chief of Marie Claire magazine. "The bag has so many design elements that are fun, stylish and functional. The shape, color and decoration grabbed my attention right away. Plus, the bag is light and has stylish hardware and great outside pockets. This one is bound to be talked about!"


In addition to Joanna Coles, fashion industry expert judges included: Anya Hindmarch, handbag designer; Samir Arora, CEO and Chairman of Glam Media; Gene Pressman, former co-CEO of Barneys whose new book "Chasing Cool," will be released in May; Jill Swid, fashion director of Glam.com; Bonnie Pressman, president of Theory Accessories; Paul Wilmot, fashion publicist; and Frank Zambrelli, creative director for Judith Leiber.


"Glam partnered with Marie Claire because we knew that together we'd be able to reach the most well-informed and fashion-savvy designers out there," said Samir Arora, chairman and CEO of Glam Media. "Orean's design has great style and energy. It's an honor to introduce her and her design."


The eight finalists (in alphabetical order) were: Ann Aldrich, from Inwood, WV; Lisa Allyn Ashbrook, from New Albany, OH; Orean Collier, from Chattanooga, TN; Jessie Lynn Gonzalez, from Philadelphia, PA; Ivey Kampouris, from Bridgewater, NJ; Trayce Skogstad, from Wausau, WI; Elkie Soto, from Staten Island, NY; and Valerie Dorr Wolff, from Alpharetta, GA. In the finalist round, each designer produced a prototype that was judged on creativity, originality, style and functionality.


All eight of the finalists' handbags will be auctioned on eBay beginning August 6, 2007, with proceeds going to the New York Foundation For The Arts. Sketches and photos of the eight finalists' handbags can be viewed at www.glam.com and bid on at www.marieclaire.com.