CEBU, Philippines— A beautiful creation made by a Filipino designer aced the national costume in the 70th Miss Universe.
Out of 80 candidates, Nigeria’s representative Maristella Okpala won the best national costume made by Filipino designer Kennedy Jhon Gasper.
It was his second time creating a costume for Miss Universe. Last year, Cameroon’s Angele Kossinda walked Gasper’s lion-inspired costume on the Miss Universe stage.
“Thank you Lord! Hindi pa rin ako makapaniwala talaga .umiiyak ako kanina habang kayakap si mama ..thank you sa lahat ng mga bumati!” Gasper shared on Facebook.
(Thank you Lord! I cannot really believe it. I cried earlier while hugging my mama … thank you to all who congratulated me.)
Nigeria’s national costume is inspired by a “Mmanwa”, a traditional masquerade of the southeastern tribe of Nigeria. It is made of African beads, stones, crafts.
“Mmanwa is a female masquerade costume that’s designed for ceremonial and festive purposes to celebrate the rich Nigerian cultural heritage paying closer attention to the strength women possess.
The 3ft tribal mask with the colorful ancient back cape. With Mmanwa’s Face boldly crested on the mask and cape. It represents the beautiful Mmanwa who fought tirelessly to stop girl child mutilation and child slavery while the colorful patterns and embellishments portray the African dashiki which offers a visual appeal and forms meant to invoke the ancestral spirits,” Okpala posted on Instagram.
Okpala said that she picked this particular costume because she could see her “self-reflection” of her cause in the “Mmanwa” which was to protect children and women against any form of abuse.
“Finally this costume pays attention to the strong will of women in attaining whatever height they want to attain, no matter the challenges faced while reaching their desired goals.”
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