DRESSING THE MISS UNIVERSE PHILIPPINES CEBU BEAUTIES
With the localized iterations of this year’s Miss Universe Philippines, January and February’s first handful of days will largely be remembered as a vividly active time for pageants in the Philippines.
From Miss Universe Philippines Cagayan de Oro City held last January 27 to Miss Universe Philippines Quezon City held on February 5, different pageants affiliated with the MUPH organization’s Accredited Partners Program have been held since the start of the year – each staged as the search for a locality’s representative(s) in the national edition of the tilt.
But in as much as the main point of the events was to see to the crowning of beauty queens, they have invariably set the stage for different designers to show off their latest designs and creations as platforms where they got to flex their creative mettles.
The elegant fineries worn by the entrants of the Miss Universe Philippines Cebu finals last February 3 at the Pacific Grand Ballroom of Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino drove this point home.
Taking after the well-received designs that were featured in the pageant’s preliminaries on January 28, twenty of Cebu’s up-and-coming designers were tasked to dress the entrants of the Cebu edition of the tilt.
Shorn of its pageantry inclinations, the pieces collectively harped on the ambivalence of nonera bound themes, as their foundational bearings were punctuated by design directives that speak of the past while keen on taking bold steps towards the future.
Made strikingly standout by cascaded blendings of traditional and contemporary styles, the pieces presented in the event tapered their hems on cuts that spoke of the 30s, 50s, 70s, 80s and 90s without being overly literal.
Each made dynamic as ensembles that harmonize old school notes into new songs, the designs were streamlined by sutured lines that balance color palettes with elemental cuts, which resulted in pieces that’re sexy but not too showy, conventional but defy the predictable.
Fashion has long played a big role in beauty pageants, which is largely evinced in the established ins and outs of a beauty tilt’s evening gown competition.
The image of a statuesque woman gliding across a stage in an elegant gown is, after all, what everyone conjures in their mind when beauty pageants are being talked about, and this ideal remained true in the first Miss Universe Philippines Cebu and will retain its verity in the forthcoming nationwide finals.