Here are some of her options
It may be over, but Miss Universe 2021 fever is still alive in the Philippines as everyone, even non-pageant fans, love how Beatrice Luigi Gomez represented the country at the pageant last Dec. 13, 2021 (PHT).
Among the things that still linger in people’s minds are the gowns she wore for the preliminary competition and the coronation night, both crafted by Filipino fashion designer Francis Libiran. But did you know that she almost wore different dresses for the event? Through an Instagram post, Miss Universe Philippines Creative Director Jonas Gaffud share the story of the “could have been” dresses.
According to him, after Francis presented more than 20 sketches, the designer went on to create seven pieces for them to choose from. Jonas confessed that since the beginning he was drawn to the red piece, even when it was still on paper. Just like in preparing a runway show, things change when garments are taken out of the mannequins and put on to the muse. This time, gowns in orange and silver colors are becoming front runners that they even joked to use the red and the gold ones for dinners and other pageant events.
“We loved the orange for finals, and silver for prelims. But then, Francis sent me the videos his phone. Suddenly, we thought the gold gown was superb! I asked Bea what’s her favorite and she said the gold gown,” Jonas posted. “I asked everyone (stylists, makeup artists, designers, MUPh team) and we were all torn between the two. I asked help from some trusted friends. The silver might look common with everyone wearing the same color. So we went back to the red gown.”
“Why not the orange? It is a masterpiece I must say. But there is something with the gold that really makes it unique, especially with her tattoo. Why not the orange for the prelims? We wanted sexy for the prelims. Then we asked Bea again, which one does she liked, and she said the gold gown,” he continued. “For the prelims, it was just any gown, but the red was the final choice because bold colors look good on her. We were praying that both gowns will register well on stage and they did.”
An extra note, during Jonas’ final moments with Beatrice before the coronation night, he advised her to play with the gold gown’s cape after walking down the stair and pose with one arm to her waist as she strut to the judges during the evening gown segment. He thought she didn’t understand but the beauty queen listened.
Check out the highlights of Beatrice’s performance at the Miss Universe 2021 pageant here: