Harley Ruedas and the gowns he created for “Cebu’s Best,” a fashion show during the Miss Universe event in Cebu
AMONG the crowd that filled the SM Mall of Asia Arena on Monday, there was Harley Ruedas realizing a 40-year-old dream of seeing the Miss Universe grand coronation unravel live before his eyes.
Aside from his love for symmetry and designs, Harley will always be a true-blue fan of Miss Universe.
“It was an experience of a lifetime. Our country was considered to be the best host of Miss Universe. We have lots of attractive natural destinations, solid tourism infrastractures, and the best pageant fans in the world that made my heart pounding,” he said.
Harley, who flew to Manila to witness the coronation with friends shared that all the sacrifices he made just to make it to the SM Mall of Asia was worth it.
“Waking up early in the morning to queue to MOA Arena to witness for the first time and live the Miss Universe finals was so exciting. And it was all worth it,” said Harley.
Clippings from Harley’s Miss U collection
He and his group of friends from Cebu and all the way from New York gathered to witness the once-in-a lifetime event from the lower box.
According to Harley, his love for the pageant started back when he was just seven.
“It could be because I’m gay (laughs). But, seriously, it’s always fun watching the pageant. And I thought at first that Miss Universe only happens once. But kada tuig diay,” he said.
Living in Bantayan, an island located 139 kilometers away from Cebu City, Harley said it started with a pack of candies sold at his aunt’s store.
“It was in 1974, and my auntie was selling these candies where you get pictures of the Miss Universe candidates when you buy a pack. That helped me a lot and eventually I started scrapbooking my collection,” he said.
According to Harley, it was that year when he started memorizing all the Philippine candidates who competed in the Miss Universe. Even now he could name all of them in the right order.
His collection grew bigger as he began saving up to buy publications with Miss Universe stories in them.
“I would save money to buy newspapers and clip the features for my scrapbook. In fact, some magazines and TV networks have feature me and my collection, particularly in 1994 where they used it as a backgrounder for the staging of the pageant here in the country,” he said.
The newspaper clippings are still in mint condition, all in a scrapbook, together with his collection of DVDs and souvenir items that he started receiving from friends who knew about his love for Miss Universe.
There are caps, shirts and mugs to go with his collection.
Though he did not plan to become a designer, Harley is more than grateful that through his profession he became part of the Miss Universe event after 23 long years—a chance that comes once in a lifetime.
Clippings from Harley’s Miss U collection
Last January 17, JPark Island Resort and Waterpark, Cebu hosted an ancillary event featuring all the Miss Universe candidates in a swimwear fashion show.
At the evening gala, the spotlight was on Cebuano designers tasked to show how rich and diverse the creatives are in the Queen City of the South, and this included the designs of Harley.
And to realize his 40-year-old dream, finally, Harley watched the Miss Universe grand coronation night live.
Harley was supposed to witness the 1994 grand coronation, when Sushmita Sen was crowned as Miss Universe, the first Indian to win the pageant.
Alas, he was not able to make it. “A week before the event, I flew to Manila to buy tickets. I really saved up so I can afford a ticket. But when I got there, I was informed that the tickets were already sold out.”
He recalls that the tickets 23 years ago were sold at P15,000 for the VIP section. And now, for the 65th Miss Universe pageant, it costs a whopping P50,000.
“We did not choose the VIP section because the tickets were pricey, and we wanted to have the loudest cheer at the lower box section for Maxine Medina,” Harley said.