Miss Universe Philippines 2020 Rabiya Mateo glows in this, one of her last photoshoots before flying to the US last April 9. The design – in collaboration with Mikee Andrei – is part of Patrick Isorena’s golden hood accessory creation that was inspired by Priyanka Chopra’s 2018 Met Gala ensemble.
Gown Designer/Stylist – @mikeeandrei
Photographer and Creative Director- @sevenbarretto
Photography Team – @claudevillahrmsa
Art Director – @botinstudios
Make Up – @carissacielomedved
Hair – @ariesmanal_hair
Since pageant season has happily started, indulge me on this one dear readers. You often talk about in replies or comments about the kind of speaking ability that you want our Beauty Queens or aspiring Beauty Queens to possess, do watch the “Vogue 73 Questions” videos below and tell me who comes off as most effective for you in answering quick top-of-the-head questions.
I adore women who think on their feet – a little spontaneity here, a little humor there and the rapid processing of thoughts however unrelated the questions may be.
Of course, this is not how you do pageant Q&A. But if bits and pieces of wit and alertness can be thrown in for good measure in an actual personal interview or live chat session onstage, then we’d all be happy watchers and observers. And critics, I might add.
PS You might say that a lot of these interviews are staged. But still, the natural qualities of each subject would still come through after answering the first ten or so.
Here are clips of a British, an Asian-American, an American, an Indian and a Fashion Icon.
At the Patricia Hall of Annabel’s Restaurant earlier, Miss World Philippines 2018 Katarina Rodriguez was given her proper send-off to Miss World 2018 before departing for Sanya, China via Guangzhou this coming Saturday at 2:30am.
Attending the event are National Director Arnold Vegafria, General Manager Bessie Besana, Miss Eco International Philippines Maureen Montagne, Miss Multinational Philippines Kimi Mugford and 1st Princess Chanel Morales. Also joining the panel are Katja’s beloved grandparents Jack and Sonia who gave heartfelt wishes for their granddaughter.
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When asked about facial comparisons to former Miss World titleholder Priyanka Chopra, Katja has this to say:
From all of us here at normannorman.com, best wishes for a successful mission in Miss World 2018!
Looking back, it was the second time that India successfully won in both Miss Universe and Miss World on the same year – a feat that is difficult to achieve twice, let alone once.
Right now, 36 year-old Priyanka Chopra is one highly-established beauty queen who was able to achieve success as Miss World 2000, a Bollywood film star and a Hollywood actress.
And now, she is reportedly engaged to actor Nick Jonas after two months of dating. That is one fast-track that will move her up the ladder of global popularity even more!
My Flight Attendant friend – Jeddahliz Maltezo (she once took part in MWP) – shared that she recently had the chance to be the Cabin Crew on board the Business Class section when Pri flew as a passenger. And she swears to her cool and down-to-earth demeanour.
And then there’s Lara Dutta.
I can still distinctly remember the finals of Miss Universe 2000 held in Nicosia, Cyprus for the very first time. Right from the start, the former Miss Intercontinental (from 1997) was on top of her game and you can tell that she was way ahead of 1st Runner-Up Claudia Moreno of Venezuela when only two women were left standing.
It was Lara’s night alright. And she started another 1-2 punch of sorts for India that year – duplicating the 1994 achievements of Sushmita Sen and Aishwarya Rai.
What baffled me then was the non-inclusion of our bet Nina Alagao who was clearly deserving of making it to the first cut at the very least. Even co-hosts Ali Landry/Julie Moran were surprised that she did not make it that far.
Anyways, the “Golden Lampshade” NatCos (made by Alfredo Barraza) of Nina that year was much-talked about because it was something that we have never seen yet in any of our country’s past MU representatives.
Last night (Manila time), I had a quick FB chat with Miss World 2013 Megan Young who is already one of the confirmed hosts of Miss World 2016 (along with Priyanka Chopra and Tim Vincent) happening at the MGM in National Harbor, Maryland this coming December 18.
I congratulated her for getting the important gig first. Of course, I asked her immediately who among the ladies in this batch are standing out in her eyes outside of Miss Philippines Catriona Gray. But having arrived only in the US a day before, she still needed to spend time with them to be able to get a better appreciation of all the candidates. But soon, she will share with me her personal likes which I will also blog about here.
For now, Megan is preparing for her 3rd consecutive Miss World hosting duty. The finals (Sunday night, December 18 in Maryland and Monday morning, December 19 in Manila) will keep her busy as a bee. 🙂
Big winners all, reunited (left-to-right): Miss Universe 1994 Sushmita Sen, Miss World 2000 Priyanka Chopra, Miss Universe 2000 Lara Dutta, Miss World 1998 Yukta Mookhey, Miss Asia-Pacific 2000 Diya Mirza, Miss World 1997 Diana Hayden and Miss World 1994 Aishwarya Rai
Left-to-right: Yukta, Aishwarya, Sushmita and Diana
The years spanning 1994-2000 are considered the Golden Age of Indian beauty queens in the global pageant stage. In that seven-year stretch alone, they managed to score two (2) Miss Universe wins and four (4) Miss World crowns. What’s more interesting is that they book-ended this period with victories in both Miss Universe and Miss World (1994 and 2000) with a bonus Miss Asia-Pacific title in the latter year.
From 2001 onwards, everything seemed to be bleak up until Nicole Faria nailed Miss Earth 2010 in Vietnam and Asha Bhat was declared Miss Supranational last year in Poland. It would also be interesting to note that India has never won Miss International with their latest (and highest) triumph being last 2003 when Shonali Nagrani placed 1st Runner-Up to Goizeder Azua of Venezuela.
Do watch now an old clip showing the reunion of Miss India winners last 2000 from where the photos above were taken from.
Priyanka Chopra goes full circle from Miss World to Bollywood to Hollywood
Miss World 2000 Priyanka Chopra in her Exotic single ft. Pitbull
The beautiful Priyanka Chopra has gone a long way. From her Femina Miss India days to winning Miss World 2000 in London to getting her successful Bollywood career and becoming a big star all the way to breaking into Hollywood where she has been packaged and launched worldwide as a sexy pop music star a la J.Lo.
Below are the two music videos for Exotic (featuring Pitbull) and I Can’t Make You Love Me.
She looks even more sexy and seductive this time around. 😀
courtesy of PriyankaChopraVEVO
courtesy of PriyankaChopraVEVO
So how much do you like the re-invented version of Priyanka? 🙂
Will 2013 be another Indian year in next month’s Miss World finals?
You see, Miss World India 2013 Navneet Kaur Dhillon is aiming high and for good reasons at that. She has been the most promising MW rep of her country in a long time. And with the consistently favored treatment given by Julia Morley to India in the pageant, I won’t be surprised if she gets far in the competition.
The question is, with the extremely busy batch of reportedly 160 delegates converging in Indonesia, will she be noticed more evenly than the rest?
Hi! Norman here. When I'm not working, I spend most of my free time planning on daily blogs. If you will notice, I always make sure that a fresh topic comes out everyday - not an easy thing to do but it's all good. Thanks for dropping by and enjoy the visit!
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