Twenty Miss Universe candidates visited the UNESCO heritage city of Vigan in Ilocos Sur on Monday and graced a fashion show wearing traditional Filipino terno.
The candidates paraded along Calle Crisologo before hitting the catwalk at the city plaza, where they showcased locally designed ternos made by homegrown talents of the Fashion Designers Council of the Philippines, Fashion Designers Association of the Philippines, and Ilocos Sur Designers Guild.
The participants include representatives of Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cayman Islands, Czech Republic, Great Britain, Guatemala, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Nicaragua, Philippines, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovak Republic, Thailand, Uruguay, USA, British Virgin Islands, Venezuela and Vietnam.
“To those who believed and who continue to believe that this endeavor will bring us enduring, intangible gains, thank you. More importantly, we wish to prove that our participation in this pageant, or in any beauty pageant for that matter, should be to forward our advocacies and woman empowerment goals,” Tourism Undersecretary Katherine De Castro said in her opening remarks.
Before their Vigan trip, the candidates visited the world-famous island of Boracay last weekend for a swimwear photoshoot and other activities.
The 65th Miss Universe coronation night will be held on Jan. 30 at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City. YG/JE
