Nicole Borromeo glides in her ‘Majestic Magindara’ gown designed by Furne Amato. Image: Armin P. Adina/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines—Binibining Pilipinas Nicole Borromeo came close to winning the Miss International title when she finished fourth in a field of 70 delegates in the final competition held in Japan on Oct. 26. But there was another recognition in the competition that she almost snagged, the “Best in Evening Gown” award.
Indonesia’s Farhana Nariswari received the recognition at the final show held at the Yoyogi Gymnasium in Tokyo’s Shibuya ward. But the Miss International pageant posted on social media on Oct. 31 the list of six other delegates who topped the segment, with Borromeo coming in second. The Cebuana beauty wore an embellished powder-blue gown with peek-a-boo holes on the shoulders created by Dubai-based Filipino designer Furne Amato.
Titled “Majestic Magindara,” the gown is an homage to the guardian of the seas, the Visayan counterpart of the mermaid. “The silhouette maintains the sleek [streamlined] forms of these aquatic muses, and the details mimic the bioluminescence of aquatic life, mesmerizing and mysterious. A mix of mesh net crystals, and Egyptian stones adds texture and dimension to the overall composition, and the translucent fringe finish creates the illusion of fins,” the Bb. Pilipinas pageant said in a social media post.
Angola’s Teresa Sara, who was proclaimed “Best in National Costume” in the competition, was third in the gown segment, followed by first runner-up Sofia Oslo from Colombia, Linette Clement from Panama, fourth runner-up Vanessa Hayes from Bolivia, and host delegate Tamao Yoneyama from Japan.
Following Sara in the costume contest was Nariswari in the second spot. The rest of the highest scorers in the segment were Zimbabwe’s Charlotte Muziri, Malaysia’s Cassandra Yap, Cambodia’s Alina Somnang, India’s Praveena Aanjna and Lesotho’s Boitumelo Sehlotho.
Muziri earlier received the “Miss Fitness” award in the ceremonies for topping the swimsuit segment, which showed the ladies in their swimwear in pre-taped videos. Following her were Hayes, Verna Leung from Hong Kong, Itzia Garcia from Mexico, Amanda Pala Solis from Puerto Rico, Kenyatta Beazer from the United States and Supaporn Ritthipruek from Thailand.
For last year’s competition, the Miss International pageant also belatedly released on social media the names of those who figured highly in the different segments of the contest. Those who advanced to the semifinals for topping the online voting in the three geographic regions were also revealed later on. For the 61st edition this year, the organization has not released the polls’ results yet.
Venezuela’s Andrea Rubio inherited the Miss International title from last year’s winner, Jasmin Selberg, to sustain her country’s dominance in the global tilt with a ninth record victory. Joining her and Borromeo, Oslo and Hayes in the circle of winners was another Latin American beauty, Peru’s Camila Diaz, who was proclaimed second runner-up.
Selberg was in Manila in May to crown Borromeo’s successor as Binibining Pilipinas International, Angelica Lopez, who will compete in the 62nd Miss International pageant next year.
Six Filipino women have captured the Miss International title since the pageant’s inception in 1960—Gemma Cruz (1964), Aurora Pijuan (1970), Melanie Marquez (1979), Precious Lara Quigaman (2005), Bea Rose Santiago (2013) and Kylie Verzosa (2016).