Newly-crowned Miss Philippines Earth Yllana Marie Aduana/TOLEDO CITY PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE PHOTO
Yllana Marie Aduana wore a nude-toned gown with peek-a-boo cutouts on her waist when she was crowned 2023 Miss Philippines Earth. But there was more to it than the sexy silhouette that emphasized her curves–around 5,000 safety pins were attached to it.
The safety pins, however, were not attached to secure the gown in place or cinch some fitting flaws. They were strategically pinned all over the dress to create design patterns usually created with beads or crystals.
This was another one of Aduana’s sustainable clothing choices throughout her Miss Philippines Earth journey this year. She has been seen elevating lowly items to high fashion pieces ever since she signified her intention to return to the national pageant.
She has worn sexy pieces made of discarded mussel shells, the “good morning” towel, a burlap sack, and other unconventional materials in pageant activites, eliciting praises from spectators.
Aduana said she recognizes how much carbon footprint the fashion industry leaves, and this is inconsistent with the pageant’s thrust of promoting environmental awareness and sustainability.
The Miss Philippines Earth pageant and the counterpart international competition Miss Earth were established by Carousel Productions in 2001 as vehicles for environmental consciousness. After winning, the queens also serve as ambassadors of environmental protection.
Aduana is a returning Miss Philippines Earth candidate, who first joined in the pageant’s virtual edition in 2021, where she finished as a runner-up. She came back stronger and more determined this year, not only in her fashion choices, but also through more expansive measures that engage her whole hometown of Siniloan in Laguna.
She edged out 28 other aspirants for the title in the competition held in Toledo City on April 29, and inherited the crown from last year’s winner, Jenny Ramp. Now she is gearing up for a bigger stage, the 2023 Miss Earth pageant to be staged in Vietnam later this year.
Aduana will try to sustain the Philippines’ status as the best performing country in the international pageant, and become the fifth Filipino woman to be crowned Miss Earth, succeeding Karla Henry (2008), Jamie Herrell (2014), Angelia Ong (2015), and Karen Ibasco (2017). EDV
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