Hannah Arnold. Image: Raymond Saldaña via Instagram/@arnoldhan_
Six months after the Miss International 2022 coronation night, pageant organizers announced the winners of its evening gown and national costume competitions, in which Philippines representative Hannah Arnold was one of the winners.
Arnold, along with reigning titleholder Jasmin Selberg of Germany, was among the eight delegates who wore the best national costumes, as seen in Miss International’s Instagram post last Wednesday, June 14.
Also included in the Top 8 are Dominican Republic’s Celine Santos Frias, Hong Kong’s Rosemary Ling, Japan’s Kiko Matsuo, Laos’ Nina Puangtip Malichanh, Mexico’s Yuridia Duran, and Uzbekistan’s Nigina Fakhriddinova, who emerged as the winner.
Apart from the nation costume event, the pageant also named the eight winners of the best in evening gown from the following countries: Peru, Jamaica, Uzbekistan, Cabo Verde, Germany, Poland, Belarus, and Spain.
On the Miss International’s post on Instagram, Arnold commented saying the post moved her in a poignant way.
“Oh my gosh this just made me so emotional. Thank you so much for this special news and thank you Miss International for recognizing the beautiful costume of the Philippines made by Sir @manny.halasan & @styledbypatrickhenry,” the Filipino-Australian beauty said, as she tagged her gown designer Manny Halasan and fashion stylist Patrick Henry Mergano.
Image: Screengrab from Instagram/@missinternationalofficial
Dubbed as “Pamana,” Arnold’s national costume was inspired by her favorite toy which was given by her mother as a child, which was shared in an Instagram post last December 2022.
The toy is said to be a limited-edition Barbie doll wearing a Maria Clara Filipiniana, where Halasan “took inspiration from and mixed it with his own fond childhood memories of his grandfather’s antique tambourine.”
Selberg will crown her successor at the Miss International 2023 pageant this coming October, which will be held in Tokyo, Japan.
Nicole Borromeo will vie for the Philippines’ seventh crown after Gemma Cruz (1964), Aurora Pijuan (1970), Melanie Marquez (1979), Lara Quigaman (2005), Bea Rose Santiago (2013), and Kylie Versoza (2016) in the global tilt. EDV