WHO SHOULD DRESS THE FILIPINA BEAUTY QUEENS?

By Lavinia Otilla

When the topic of who should dress our Filipina pageant queens comes to a point of discussion, every pageant fanatic has a say. The discussion becomes heated to the point of being too emotional. Pageant fanatics have different standards of fashion. Quite understandably, it is because we all have different fashion senses. Fashion sense is not universal. It demands a cultural milieu hence, the apparent dislike of pageant gurus to foreign designers clothing our Filipina queens.

One of the common assertions of pageant fans about foreign designers clothing our pageant queens is that they have a conflict of interest. Take for example, Barraza clothes both Miss Colombia and Miss Philippines. In essence, Barraza will favour Miss Colombia. In Barraza’s previous outing for the Philippines, pageant connoisseurs aptly termed the creations “bazzura” which can aptly be translated to trash. Even the gown used by Miss Shamcey Supsup in the recently concluded Miss Universe 2011 where she eventually ended up 3^rd runner-up was a re-creation of the unthinking and unimaginative Barraza probably from an unused bale of clothing that she used for a fashion show.

There is no magic formula however on what pageant gown to use. Mirriam Quiambao used a Halston gown with great success. She was simply resplendent and oozed with immense elegance during the gown competition. Venus Raj showed what is supposed to be the dictum in carrying gowns. ”It is not the gown but the lady in it.” The gown was extremely looking bad but Venus carried it with aplomb. However, she would have etched a higher ranking if the gown was well-made and conceptualized.

Another point in case is Jewel Mae Lobaton a replacement for Tisha Silang who competed in the Miss Universe edition in Hawaii, defiantly used a gown by Larry Espinosa against the wishes of Binibining Pilipinas. She used a corset type of gown that did not accentuate her queenly bearing. Jewel got very low scores in the evening gown preliminaries and spelled her doom in the contest. Did she insist on using that gown because she was Best in Long gown  during the Binibining Pilipinas 1998 finals?


One candidate that most pageant fanatics revered and still now showed their frustration is on the evening gown albeit including the national costume is that of Nina Ricci Alagao. The gown was uninspired, ill-fitting and simply lacks class. Many pageant pundits theorize why Miss Philippines lost in that edition of the Miss Universe pageant but everything seems to point out to her poorly looking evening gown.

Another very interesting case is Cara Subijano’s gown during her Miss World stint. Many would agree that Cara is another Miss World in the making. There were implied innuendos that her gown was lost or was stolen so that she would use a borrowed gown that is not competitive enough to show her best. But if reports are correct and true that she was the one who unilaterally decided to use the much dreaded gown that made her downfall in the pageant, then Stella Marquez Araneta had every right to impose what gown should the candidate representing the country should wear. It was said that Cara decided to use that gown because there were a lot of candidates using white and that with the black and blue combination gown, she would attract more attention. Truly she attracted more attention but for a different reason – a disastrous gown.



I can go on enumerating what other pageant pundits and fanatics have pointed out in the past. But still the question is left unanswered. Should Filipino designers clothe our pageant queens? In my earlier treatise, I said there is no magic formula because it may be good for someone (Quiambao) and bad in some (Lobaton). But Filipino designers are leading the pack in the field of designing. We have Oliver Tolentino, Michael Cinco [1], Jojie Loren [2], Rajo Laurel [3]  and Inno Sotto [4] to name a few. Oliver Tolentino [5] designed and made the gowns used by Gwendoline Ruais who came out as First Princess in the recently held Miss World 2011 with astounding results. Ruais came out stunning in those gowns. The gowns were made to complement and make Ruais radiate in them.  And there are still those that have made the fashion world more significant in the name of Pitoy Moreno, Renee Salud, Louie Mamengo and Goulee Gorospe. These stalwarts have made the Filipino fashion world more memorable and exciting as we venture into the new world.


The Filipino designer has been in the forefront of fashion ever since. They have shown apparels which are fashion forward and is highly competitive in all fronts. It is about time that we give them the chance to dress up our pageant queens. What Cory Quirino did in the recently concluded Miss World 2011 is a step in the right direction. 

COVER STORY: GWENDOLINE RUAIS

MISS WORLD FIRST PRINCESS 2011
by Raphael Porciuncula


Suddenly, pageant fans from the Philippines went agog when Miss World Philippines Gwendoline Ruais snatched the First Princess crown in the recently concluded Miss World 2011. She placed second to eventual winner Miss Venezuela – Ivian Sarcos.

Gwendoline’s ascent to the beauty scene started with the modelling world – what with her towering height of almost 6 feet and her slender physique that glides like a gazelle in the wilderness. She was one of the representatives of the country in 2010 Asian Supermodel Contest where she romped off with the Best in Catwalk Award. Although Mariana del Rio another Philippine representative ended up 2nd runner-up in the competition, Gwendoline’s presence was not completely ignored by the judges. She made her existence felt by the catwalk award.

Although Gwen was doing well in the runway, she took a leap and joined the Binibining Pilipinas 2010 where she made it to the Top 10. Although it was very obvious that she did well in the Question and Answer portion, Gwen was not the clear favourite that evening as it was a very competitive batch. At the early part of the pageant, Gwen is being touted to become Bb. Pilipinas-World. But alas, another girl was crowned that night. After the Binibining Pilipinas pageant, Gwen was left with three choices – to continue her modelling career, join next year’s Binibini Pageant or join another national pageant like Miss Philippines-Earth. At that point in time there were loud whispers that the franchise of Miss World for the Philippines will be given to another organization and that Binibining Pilipinas will relinquish the franchise. As the whisper becomes louder and became a reality, the Miss World Philippine franchise was awarded to Ms. Cory Quirino a well-known socialite in the country.

The change in the franchise holder might have been providential for Gwen. She was crowned as the first Miss World Philippines under the stewardship of Ms. Cory Quirino. What is admirable with Gwen is that we never heard any feedbacks from her regarding vociferous and even slanderous remarks about her winning the pageant. Brickbats concerning her looks, figure and even her communication skills surfaced and had been below the belt. But the new Miss World Philippines kept her cool and silent demeanour. She showed what is really to be a queen.

Top picture from left: Gwendoline during the Asian Supermodel contest where she bagged the Best in Catwalk award; right: During the Bb. Pilipins 2010 pageant. Bottom picture: During the Miss World Philippines 2011 pageant where she won the crown

There is a palpable hope that Gwendoline’s participation in the Miss World 2011 will give positive results. She was named a finalist in 3 Fast track events – the Beach Beauty Competition, Top Model Competition and Beauty with a Purpose Competition. Going into the Top 20, Gwendoline ranked number 3 after Puerto Rico and Venezuela.

Top picture left: Gwen at the Beach Beauty competition; right: Gwen at the Top Model competition. Bottom picture: Gwen together with the initial Top 10 for the Beauty with a Purpose award.

No Filipina has won in the pageant’s history of 60 years. With Gwendoline’s feat, she equalled the placement of Miss Evangeline Pascual who almost made it as Miss World in 1973. Other runner-up winners of the elusive crown were actress-talk show host Ruffa Gutierrez who placed third in 1993. It must be noted that Cecilia Amabuyok was fifth place in 1968. Noteworthy also were the performances of Maria Rafaela Yunon in 2003 and Karla Bautista in 2004 who both ended up in the Top 5.

Gwendoline by the way is half-French (paternal side) and half-Filipina (maternal side), was born in Makati City, moved to Thailand when she was two years old, to France when she was five years old and back to the Philippines when she was 11. She holds a “Business Management degree (Honours Program) from Southville Foreign University major in Marketing.

Photo Credits: Bb. Pilipinas Charities, Inc., Miss World Philippines,  Miss World Organization