NATIONAL COSTUMES OR CREATIVE COSTUMES? – A MISS UNIVERSE 2012 SPECTACLE

By Lavinia Otilla

There are a lot of beautiful costumes paraded by the candidates of Miss Universe 2012 in Las Vegas. We get the feeling that most the girls’ costumes are patterned with the Las Vegas costumes. Most of the costumes look very carnival in character and thus the few real traditional costumes that adhered to what a national costume is were drowned in this dissonance.

What does a national costume signify? It refers to the clothes traditionally worn by some belonging to a particular nation. In other words, it is an outfit that identifies a geographical region. Before going to this treatise again, I took pains in going through research on what is the national costume of the countries.  

1.    BRAZIL – Colorful hand painting depicting the amazon forest and the people.

2.    CHINA – this is a modernized cheongsam. With the cloth that appears to have the decorations of the porcelains of the Ming Dynasty, one can still feel the Chinese influence in the costume. It is very creative and it tried to project the cheongsam in a new and fashion forward look.

3.    ECUADOR - the costume is made-up of a colorful hand-painted tilma-like cloth which depicts the biodiversity of the country. It is ornately decorated and it is very attractive.

4.    GHANA –The Ghanaian national dress is intricately patterned, brightly colored kente cloth, which is hand woven. With the cloth, they are further adorned with necklaces made of beads. Such ornately adorned kente cloth are usually worn by women and men.

5.    INDIA – India presented a modernized sari. It is made up of silk ornately designed.

6.    JAPAN – She presented a modernized kimono intricately and colorfully designed with fans. The fan designs are very significant as the kimono was originated by a fan painter. What makes this costume interesting is that it blended western and eastern influences. Western in the sense that the dress showed flesh (shoulders, bustier type of cut) while it still adhered to the original concept of the kimono.

7.    KOREA – Miss Korea used the traditional hanbok. It was colorfully designed and Miss Korea’s hair adhered to what the traditional Korean woman should wear.

8.    MEXICO – Miss Mexico presented a costume reminiscent of the Mayan influences. It is very colorful, vivid and beautifully crafted.

9.    NICARAGUA – The Nicaraguan costume is a modern rendition of the traditional dress used in folkloric festivities of the country. It is an intricately designed dress in which the historical imprints are placed in the dress.

10.PANAMA – Although Miss Panama presented a very beautiful and intricately made, it has the trappings of an Aztec inspired costume. But based on research, the national costume is the Pollera. The pollera has a wide skirt and is commonly used in weddings and in festivities.

11. PERU – Although Peru presented a very colorful and well-designed dress, I do not know what to make of it. In a recent reading it states that the Peruvian costume is made up of vibrant and colorful designs of traditional Peruvian clothing and the bright, geometric patterns seen in ponchos continue to blend thousands of years of Peruvian style mixed with traditional Spanish and modern influences. My take on the costume? It has nothing to do with the culture of Peru. It is a costume that is apt to blend with the Las Vegas.

12. PHILIPPINES – The costume that Miss Philippines has worn is derived from the costumes of the Muslim royalty in the south. The Maranao’s in Mindanao use this type of dress and they are usually colorful. The use of a crown depicts royalty. The sash or the band signifies also the status of the wearer. She could have used a fan or an umbrella for more effects.

13. ST. LUCIA – Miss St. Lucia’s costume is reminiscent of the creative costumes that represent the products of the place. The costume truly depicts a Caribbean paradise like St. Lucia.

14.USA – Miss USA’s interpretation of the Statue of Liberty is truly worth praising. I like the creative mind behind it although I feel the creator should have used brighter color to add more excitement and attention to the costume.

15.VIETNAM – Miss Vietnam presented a beautiful and colorful rendition of the  áo dài .

So in effect, who are my personal choices in the Top 5 in the National Costume?  

       Ecuador, Japan, Korea, Philippines and Vietnam.

My best in National Costume is Japan for being true to form and yet fashion forward. 

Photo Courtesy: MissUniverse.com 

QUEENTESSENCE' FINAL CHOICES FOR MISS UNIVERSE 2012…..

by Raphael Porciuncula

Our friend Arnulfo Distor wrote the Queentessence article of who did best during the preliminary competition. We compiled the choices of our correspondents and we came out who was at the frontlines based on how of our many correspondents thought so. So we have posted who we think shone the brightest that day. Now the staff of Queentessence sat down and reviewed the girl’s performances and we are posting our predictions for this December 19, 2012. Note that what we are posting are the rankings of the candidates based on our evaluation. We feel that those in our discussion board are capable of winning the crown. But in our honest opinion, those listed in our Top 9, are candidates of prime importance and we believe the new Miss Universe will come from that list.

A new Top 16 is beginning to emerge. A review of the preliminary presentation showed 25 candidates competing for the Top slot of 15. Of course, we have to contend who is candidate that will have the most internet votes. We are not ably able to predict this because everyone was surprised to see Portugal with the highest internet votes when nationalities like Thailand, Vietnam and Puerto who vote rabidly were edged out Portugal. But we will venture on one candidate based on gut feel. On the other hand, if this will still be implemented, 6 candidates will be chosen by the production side that are amply called Trump “cards” or girls. We are therefore choosing 9 candidates, then possibly predict 6 Trump girls and of course predict the Miss Internet candidate.

Our prediction for the Top 9 girls is:

1.    Netherlands 

-        She is an epitome of grace and elegance during the preliminaries. She glided like a gazelle onstage. She has the body. She has the looks and she would fit the role of Miss Universe to T. This would be no wonder as she had already records to prove this. She was Miss Tourism International in 2010 and a Miss World 2012 semifinalist. She showed the confidence of someone who had been on the stage. The time is ripe for her to become Miss Universe 2012

2.    Brazil

-        Many fault this girl to look older than her age. But when she walked the stage during her gown preliminary, she was already number 1 in my list. The glides, the walk, the turns and the gown that suited her very well is not enough to put her in the frontline. When she came out for the swimsuit competition, Brazil solidified her claim to a semifinalist position. She has the body. She has the curves and she walks the walk.

3.    South Africa

-        She is performing perfectly as to what pageant pundits expect her to. She amazingly good in the evening gown and when she made her turn and stopped and looked at the audience with her playful eyes, she was heavenly. She was a Goddess that descended in Las Vegas. Her swimsuit performance is near perfect and she is so close in performance with Netherlands and Brazil.

4.    Venezuela

-        Many pageant followers were quite turned off with the overzealousness that Venezuela showed during the preliminaries. But one must accept the fact that she is above par than the other contestants. She is not one of those run of the mill candidates. She shouts elegance. She screams perfection.

5.    Philippines

-        The candidate that surprised many. She had undergone many taunts concerning her victory in her national pageant. But when people saw her performed in the many activities of Miss Universe and in the preliminaries, she proved to doubting Thomases that she is worth her national title. Her much-talked about “cobra” walk (whatever that means) was appreciated because she was confident. She was splendid and she simply great in the evening gown competition despite a not so beautiful gown. She however, mesmerized everybody when she sashayed onstage during the swimsuit segment. She gave Miss Brazil the run for her money during that segment.

6.    Puerto Rico

-        This lady is someone you love or hate. Many pick on her nose which is disconcerting during her presentation. But this girl kills you with her smile. When she smiles, she is heavenly. You forget the nose that other people note of her. She is fascinating. She has vavaboom body. She is simply great. Add her height to her other qualities, she gives out an air of muted sophistication. She is simply great.

7.    Paraguay

-        How can we miss on Miss Paraguay on our previous choices? Well, as our second look, she was one of those that caught our eyes. She is resplendent. She is amazing and she is stunning in the evening gown preliminaries. When she came out in the swimwear segment, she was already a front runner so to speak.

8.    Ecuador

-        She was Top on our list just after the preliminaries. But with careful review of the candidates’ performances she was edged out by other candidates. But for us here in Queentessence’ what matters is that she is a sure one in the Top 16. Ecuadorian pageant fans are giving so much hope that their representative in Miss Universe will give a good fight after their victories in Miss International and Miss Earth the following year. They do have basis of course. Carolina Aguirre strutted in the preliminaries with verve and vigor. She was full of vitality and life. She was magnificent.

9.    Australia

-        In a booking betting site, Miss Australia is 14 to 1 odds in becoming Miss Universe. There are other candidates in the list but the betting agency says that of three others, Miss Australia has the best chances of being crowned Miss Universe 2012.

Possible Trump Candidates

They say that Mr. Trump chooses 6 candidates to complete the Top 15 and that 1 comes from internet voting to complete the Top 16. We will give reasons why the following candidates will be the Trump choices.

10.Croatia

-        Miss Croatia is a choice of most pageant aficionados because of her beautiful face. She was said to be exemplary in her evening gown presentation but lacking so much pizzazz in her swimsuit presentation. In a review of the preliminary presentation, I do not think that she did a very good performance in the evening gown round. There were others that did better than her. Add to this, she gave a lackluster interview in the series of questions given to her uploaded in the Miss Universe website. I believe that if she gets into the Top 16, it is because Mr. Trump and the production people like her or the people around Miss Universe feel that they would need to give the enjoyment of the people who are going to watch by including her in the Top 16. Well, will she repeat a Miss Angola phenomenon this year? Let us watch and see this 19^th of December if she lives up to the promise.

11.Czech Republic

-        Miss Czech Republic is one of those that tied for the 16^th spot during our tabulations during our review from the Preliminary competition. If she makes it over Miss Croatia and Guyana, then she should be really really lucky. Well, with Miss Czech Republic’s qualities, she can be both a Trump candidate and a shoo-in candidate. Why do I say so? She is shoo-in candidate because she is within the reach of those in Top 9. But she can be a Trump candidate in the event that she does not qualify among the Top 9 as there are so many formidable candidates ahead of her.

12.Mexico

-        Miss Mexico is a very charming lady but was eclipsed with the more formidable candidates in the catwalk department. She seemed so disinterested. Thus her presence in the Top 16 would make you suspect that she belongs to the Trump group of candidates.

13.Georgia

-        Miss Georgia is one candidate that I would be happy to get into the Top 16. She is flawless in the runway and she exceedingly performed her best during the evening gown and swimsuit competition. But because of the fact that there were around 18 candidates that we thought did better than her in the preliminaries, it would be a surprise that she made it equally good to the Top 16. Then the conclusion therefore is that she is a Trump candidate.

14.Colombia

-        Colombia is one of my favorite candidates. She ranked 10^th in our official ranking but because of the Trump candidates’ phenomenon, she will be lumped with the other candidates in this grouping. She is hands down an excellent candidate that should be included in the formidable Top 16.

15.USA

-        Need we say more? I think Miss USA’s number one quality is her beautiful face. She is charismatic and that she can own you. But this is a contest with qualifying points to make it to the Top 16 and I think she failed in the evening gown segment and that there were other much beautiful girls that were ahead of her in the swimsuit presentation.

Candidate from Internet Votes

16.Thailand

-        Miss Thailand ranks 25^th in our listing. But we’ve got the feeling that she will top the voting to be included in the Top 16 choices. She would be competing with Miss Vietnam.

Note however that based on Queentessence choices without regards for the Trump choices should have been the following:

Colombia, Cayman Islands, Aruba, Mexico, Japan and Guyana. We feel that for all intents and reasons, USA will be in by virtue of the following: Host and Sash Factor.  But in our listing it should be Georgia who will come in and USA will be shut out of the Top 16. But since this pageant is done in US soil, she will be amply accorded the courtesy of being in the Top 16.

It is not a surprise for us that Miss Cayman Islands was noted by a lot of pageant pundits. She is very charming and she has a very sweet demeanor. She is a delight in the runway. With her saccharine smile she can smile her way up to the Top of the ranking. If this happens, it will be the first time that Cayman Islands made a dent into the semifinalist list of the Miss Universe Beauty Pageant. We hope she does pretty well and that she will also be in the list of Mr. Trump.

Aruba is another surprising delight. She is tall. She has a very sexy body and she undoubtedly nailed her performances in the evening gown and swimsuit segment. She is truly amazing.

  

Miss Japan is one of our personal favorites.  She has an enigmatic presence. I don’t know why others don’t just feel her. She has this uncanny connection with me so that so, I believe she will make a difference among the candidates. If she makes it to the Top 16, then my gut feel is right. If not, then I was still right not putting her among the possible Trump takers.

Of course, Miss Guyana should be in based on our list. This lady is really a class of her own. She stumbled but stood up and did continue the walking it’s as if nothing happened. She is a real professional for that matter. Sympathy or non-sympathy, she should be in. If she is in, then we shall be thankful and see how she performed to the hilt come pageant night.

We have this lingering feeling that favorites' Croatia and Czech Republic will not be called to the Top 16. Croatia might get the famous Ruth Ocumarez tag as she is the favorite of almost everyone. But reviewing the presentation once more, there were other candidates that really showed remarkable performance and upstaged the beautiful faced Croatia. Despite an acceptable gown presentation, her swimsuit round was really wanting. It is now highly doubtful if she will be in or out. There were discussions on how past candidates were chosen and that some of those choices were hinged on face value alone. Even the current Miss Universe, who would have thought that she is going to win the crown? She had shown all the fumbles while co-hosting during the preliminary competition. Although during the lull where the stage was being dried by dripping water from up, she was interviewed by her co-host and in her halting English, she showed wisdom in her answers. So what am I trying to say, the Miss Universe Crown is still open to everyone and just like the judges, we will have our own choices and as of the moment this is our Prediction for the Top 16. Favorite Miss Czech Republic may not be able to qualify for the Top 16 because of her horrendous body figure. Her bone asymmetry is really disturbing.

QUEENTESSENCE TOP 16 AFTER THE EVENING GOWN AND SWIMSUIT PRELIMINARIES

by Arnulfo Distor

I was not surprised with the choice of Miss Ecuador as the front runner in the evening gown and swimsuit preliminaries. She was totally a performer and she resplendent in everything. It is no doubt why she shot up in the rankings. Her previous rankings were 3^rd and 12^th positions. Do you think she will be able to maintain the lead? We know that the preliminary interview is not revealed but with her likeability rating, she should be a great contender for a Top 16 spot.

Croatia again went back to her previous rank. She initially ranked second, then plummeted to 8^th and then she’s back at 2^nd. She is said to have the most beautiful face. She may not have the best catwalk, best poses and best interview skills but people are just enamored with her beautiful face. Will this quality be enough to catapult her to the top rank? Well, when Leila won, she was just said to have a pretty face. She was not excellent in the catwalk. She just gives out what is in her mind. And she became Miss Universe. This is my contention for Miss Croatia. She might just be Miss Universe 2012 with a stroke of luck.

Coming in to the heels of Miss Croatia is Miss South Africa. Miss South Africa initially ranked 11^th, then 1^st and now 3^rd. What more can we say with Melinda Bam? Well, she is a vamp. She burns the stage with her fiery performance. It was a close call for the other two. With a very good credential, it will be a wonder if this lady does not perform well in her closed door interview.

In 4^th place is Miss Philippines, Janine Tugonon. Janine surprised everyone with a  very good catwalk. Although pageant followers are still debating about her gown, many underscored the fact that she carried herself well in that gown. And although the debate rages on, our tally showed her maintaining her 4^th place position.

Miss Australia occupies the 5^th place, a rank higher than her previous rank. This girl is very consistent. In our initial ranking, she was 14^th in rank, then she was number 6 and now she is higher in rank. I believe this girl can talk and thus it is expected that she enters the Top 16.

Miss Mexico was described as bland and she seemed to be rushing during her evening gown presentation so that so, her screen time is so short. Other pundits describe her as someone disinterested. And yet they put her in the 6^th rank. There are a lot of comparisons that pageant aficionados are saying. She has the looks of Ximena. She has a similar red gown and her projection seems like Ximena too. Will she follow the same fate like Ximena? Well, we will see on pageant night.

Miss Venezuela continues a high favorability rating among the pageant connoisseurs. Some people are turned off with her go-easy attitude during the preliminaries. They may have punished her for that by falling into the 7^th ranking after a high second ranking. But this 7^th rank indicates that she is still a candidate in contention.

Miss Colombia is another candidate that fell in the ranking. Although she did pretty well, I guess other candidates were remembered well with their sterling qualities that she got into the 8^th rank this time.

Miss Czech Republic is another favorite and she had improved in her ratings. Although not favored to take the title, it looks like that she might make a dent with her 9^th rank among Miss Universe followers.

Ranked Number 10 is Miss Puerto Rico. A lot of fans are rooting for Miss Puerto Rico. She was exemplary in both the evening gown and the swimsuit. She is well within reach and let us see how she managed in her interview. I expect her to be in the Top 16 come pageant night.

On the 11^th slot is Miss U.S.A. Miss U.S.A. comes out very charming in her presentation. Although I don’t love her gown as it does not suit her, she is very dazzling in her swimsuit presentation. Sash factor or not, she is a cinch to the Top 16.

Somebody new in the Top 16 ranking and occupying the 12^th slot is Miss France. Miss France wowed the fans with her shapely body and good presentation in the evening gown. With a very good catwalk, she was able to penetrate our Top 16.

Miss Germany plummeted in terms of likeability among our respondents but still kept one of the slots and is in the 13^th position. Miss Germany was adequate in her presentation but not enough to wow the partisan crowd. Did she wow the judges? It is for us to see on pageant and see for ourselves if she made it to the Top 16.

Miss Japan did not lose her composure and still maintained a slot in the Top 16 and is now in the 14^th position. She is very radiant and projects very well onstage. Come pageant night, I believe she will perform much better.

Miss Kosovo’s presence during the preliminary presentation was not expected by our respondents. She was nowhere the Miss Kosovo in her Fadil shots. However, she gave out an adequate performance that merited her occupying the last second to the last slots.

Rounding up our list is Miss Brazil who was a surprise during the presentation night. Although she looks older her age, she was overwhelmingly captivating during the evening gown and swimsuit rounds. Her presence was felt of these particular performances.

Close on the heels that has the capability to make it to the Top 16 and dislodge some of the candidates are Misses Aruba, Bolivia, Finland, Georgia, Guatemala, Israel, Russia, Sri Lanka and Switzerland. They too did very well during the preliminary competition. It would therefore be the interview that would separate the semifinalists to the other candidates. Let us wait and see.

Photo Courtesy: missuniverse.com