Best in Gowns--Miss Universe 2019 Finalists in their Evening Gowns (L to R) Miss Universe Colombia Gabriela Tafur, Miss Universe Thailand Paweensouda Drouin, Miss Universe South Africa Zozibini Tunzi, Miss Universe Puerto Rico Madison Anderson, and Miss Universe
France Maeva Coucke--Miss Universe 2019 Finals, Atlanta Georgia
Universal Beauty--Zozibini Tunzi, Miss Universe South Africa is crowned Miss Universe 2019 by outgoing Miss Universe 2018 Catriona Gray--Miss Universe 2019 Finals, Atlanta Georgia
Last night was the Finals of the
68th Annual Miss Universe contest, held at the
Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta Georgia. 90 contestants from all over the world competed and the eventual winner was the stunning
Zozibini Tunzi,
Miss Universe South Africa.
Zozibini Tunzi, Miss Universe South Africa and new Miss Universe
A front-runner and a favorite from the start, 26-year-old, Zozibini bested the 89 other contestants with her elegance, stature, and intelligent answers. Tunzi has a Bachelor's Degree in Public Relations from the
Cape Pennisula Institute of Technology. Prior to winning her country's title, she was studying to get her Master's in public relations as well.
She is the third woman from South Africa to win the Miss Universe title and in case you might be wondering the social media power of becoming Miss Universe...Zozibini's Instagram following jumped to 1.4 MILLION as of last night!
Miss Universe South Africa Zozibini Tunzi, during the 2019 Miss Universe Finals
Her National Costume--Zozibini Tunzi "Miss Universe South Africa"--Entitled "Waves of Love", this Lloyd Kandlin-designed costume incorporates love letters from South African males to women, as part of Zozibini's support of the #HeForShe campaign.
Speaking of National Costumes...The 2019 Miss Universe Best National Costume Award went to:
Miss Universe Philippines Gazini Ganados--Designed by Cary Santiago, this stunning silver costume depicts the Philippine Eagle, the national bird of the country. It features laser-cut fabric in feather motifs in a fit-to-flare gown, with back wings, two eagles sitting atop her arms and an outstanding headdress. It is a work of Haute Couture Costume Art!
Now, it's time to get to the EVENING GOWNS! Let's discuss the Top Ten Semi-Finalists Gowns from the No. 1 to No. 10 favorites...Every gown was beaded so in terms of Trends, there was that, and speaking of trends: "Nude Gowns" are still as HOT as ever...
Let's begin with the Winner of Miss Universe 2019, South Africa's Zozibini Tunzi:
1. Miss Universe South Africa Zozibini Tunzi--The eventual winner of this year's Miss Universe wore this shimmering gown for last night's Evening Gown Competition. The design featured a gold and silver sequined pattern that ended in a "sea" of turquoise toward the hem. The bodice was nude but covered in the appropriate places with coral-like sequin design. In addition, it featured beautifully cowl-draped sequins in long strands framing the top. It was impacting, sexy and fit her perfectly. If there was any critique, I had a couple: The shoulder pads that I could see through the sequins, and THOSE SHOES; they were distracting and too clunky for that type of gown. I gave it my Top Gown placement even with those bad shoes (I just pretended they were gold non-platform strappy heels).
The dress was by
Biji-La Maison de Couture, the same designer/brand that made MY FAVORITE GOWN from the Preliminaries:
White Caped Goddess--Miss Universe South Africa Zozibinin Tunzi, during the Miss Universe 2019 Preliminaries
2. Miss Universe Colombia Gabriela Tafur--My second favorite gown of the night was this gold sequined dress worn by Miss Universe Colombia. This is the same dress she wore for the Preliminaries and was designed by Colombian designer
Alfredo Barraza and
I was a fan of it then. The dress was THE PERFECT EXAMPLE of a well-made sequined dress. Full Stop. Many contestants tried to wear something on this variation, lots falling a bit short of in showing elegance, red carpet fabulousness or looking rich. This right here covered all those bases, and it fit her to a T.
3. Miss Universe Thailand Fahsai Paweensuda Drouin--At first glance when Paweensuda came out, I was like "Oh No She Didn't!" and "Is that a SEQUINED LEG?!" At first, I was a bit confused with my emotions and thoughts on the gown but now, a day after, I really liked it! Designed by
SURFACE Adhit Dhirakittiwat, the dress (with one sequined leg), was very stage impacting and certainly stood out among the other nine. It was original in its design and featured gorgeous and very elaborate silver crystal beadwork framing the bodice. One could argue that it was two minutes away from being a costume--for a very High Fashion Moulin Rouge perhaps--but on the Miss Universe stage where you get just ONE CHANCE, Paweensuda went for it, and to me, it paid off.
4. Miss Universe Puerto Rico Madison Anderson--Wearing the gold gown by designer
Luis Antonio, Miss Universe Puerto Rico sauntered into the Top 5, then the Top Three and eventually, became the 1st Runner-up. She looked like a movie star walking onstage to announce the Best Actor Nominees for the Oscars. I loved the mirrored sequins covering her body, the shape of the dress was perfect and the gold went great with her golden hair.
5. Miss Universe France Maeva Coucke--This was one of my favorite gowns from the Miss Universe 2019 preliminaries and I was happy to see Miss Universe France didn't change for the Finals. The ivory sequin-and-feathers dress was from Lebanese couturier
Ziad Nakad and looked as exquisite and expensive as most of those Lebanese designer's gowns (from Elie Saab, Zuhair Murad, etc.). I loved the placements of the sequins and feathers at the bottom half and sleeves and in addition, the nude/blush coloring was perfect for Maeva's porcelain skin color and auburn hair. She looked like an actress at the Cannes Film Festival red carpet:
Tres Chic.
6. Miss Universe Indonesia Frederika Alexis Cull--Indonesia's Frederika Cull wore another one of those golden/nude sequined gowns very popular with pageant and red carpet ladies. This gown was designed
by
Tex Saverio, the same designer who made her Preliminaries gown. The dress is beautifully made, as it has become custom from many of these Indonesian designers, featuring heavily beaded designs, simulating diamond necklaces draped all over her sinuous body. Under this see-through sequined netting, she wore a nude-colored strapless corsetted bodysuit, like a very Haute Spanx. She looked sexy and glamorous. I was also extremely happy that she wore the RIGHT SHOES! (Take note ladies--THESE are the gold strappy heels I am always talking about).
7. Miss Universe Mexico Sofia Aragon--For the Miss Universe 2019 Finals, Sofia went red. This red sequined gown was
designed by
Fher Santos, the same designer who made her white preliminaries gown seen
HERE. This column-shaped dress fit her to perfection with hidden inner corsetry and was completely covered in crystals. The design had a detachable red organza overskirt, which she removed as part of her catwalk. The color and shape were just right for Sofia.
8. Miss Universe Peru Kelin Rivera--Kelin is at my 8 out of 10 spot in this dress designed
by Peruvian Designer
Maritza Mendoza Studio. The dress featured a nude (of course!) colored satin dress with peek-a-boo see-through netting at the side, curving up to the front of her torso. The heavy crystal beading covered the entire gown in a rich scroll-like pattern. This was a perfectly nice gown that fit her well and made her look Pageant perfect on stage.
9. Miss USA Cheslie Kryst--Miss USA Cheslie Kryst also chose a gold gown for the Finals of Miss Universe 2019 (I was beginning to think they all actually got a directive TO ALL WEAR GOLD!!!). This particular dress was from
Sherri Hill and featured a high side slit, nude base with gold mirrored sequins that looked like broken glass.
I thought the one-shoulder dress fit her nice (showing off Cheslie's incredibly toned body) and I also loved how the "broken glass" mirrored sequins were placed throughout the dress and how they radiated from the side waist, doing a fab "cinched-in" illusion...but compared to Miss Puerto Rico this dress looked a bit "off the rack" compared to Madison's Haute Gown.
Lastly...
10. Miss Universe Iceland Birta Abiba Porhallsdottir--The oh-so-lovely 20-year-old Birta captured the hearts of the universe last night during the Miss Universe 2019 pageant. With making it into the Top 10, she achieved the highest placement for her country since...1962! She wore this golden gown from Sherri Hill. The strapless dress had a gold beaded bodice and full ball-gown style skirt with gold appliques over ivory crinoline fabric. The style was sweet and worked for the 5' 10" tall beauty. While it was a bit "Miss Teen"-like, I'm glad she went a bit "edgy" by not lining it and giving a semi-view to her legs underneath.
So...a BIG CONGRATULATIONS to the new Miss Universe, South Africa's Zozibini Tunzi!!!
Miss Universe 2019 Zozibini Tunzi
...and Don't Forget about my "The Pageant Coloring Book" where you can create your VERY OWN Evening Gown Competition using my Fashion Illustrations! Click HERE to Purchase:
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