The Miss Universe beauty pageant is the one night in the pageantry calendar where we see glamorous evening gowns parade in front of millions of people watching the spectacular live event. It is truly a wonderful fashion show where visionary national designers from around the world showcase their designs to elevate and celebrate the beauty of women. The wide range of diverse designs with the creative thought process behind each masterpiece created by fashion designers enhances the beauty of the queens on the final stage. This article will mention the stories behind the winning evening gowns worn by the Miss Universe winners from 2011 until 2022 beauty pageant.
Miss Universe 2011 Leila Lopes of Angola
Designer: Alexandre Dutra from Brazil
The first ever Angolan woman to win the coveted crown of Miss Universe was Leila Lopes in 2011. On the stage, she wore a cream-colored strapless, sparkle-beaded evening gown with feather details attached to the dress. This beautiful outfit was designed by Alexandre Dutra - a Brazilian fashion designer. She wore the same dress for the official portrait, preliminary competition, and the final night. It boosted her confidence and made her shine, it helped Angola win their first and so far only victory at the Miss Universe pageant. Embracing her African beauty with a classic bun hairstyle, Lelia took everyone's breath away on the Brazilian stage.
Miss Universe 2012 Olivia Culpo of the USA
Designer: Georges Hobeika from Lebanon
All-American girl next door, Olivia walked across the stage in a red carpet-ready red velvet ball gown from Georges Hobeika's fall 2012 collection. This cinderella style skirt with a plunging neckline made her appear taller on the stage. Since she is petite, standing at only 165cm or 5 feet 5 inches tall, with a high bun hairstyle presented her with the illusion to appear taller than her height. It was a smart choice to wear the same gown for the prejudging round and the final night.
Miss Universe 2013 Gabriela Isler of Venezuela
Preliminary Designer: Gionni Straccia Frusciante from Venezuela
Final Designer: Alejandro Fajardo from Venezuela
For the preliminary competition, Gabriela wore this nude color silk, zipper line evening gown, a typical Venezuelan pageant dress that arises during the national contest. It was fully decorated in various sizes of Swarovski jewel crystals from Venezuelan fashion designer Gionni Straccia Frusciante for the final night. To show versatility and show a different side of Gabriela, the designer Alejandro Fajardo made silver and nude sequins with a full-sleeved garment. It was a wise decision as Gabriela was the only delegate who had a different style gown during the top five finalists as she was the only delegate who wore a full-sleeved evening gown that year.
Miss Universe 2014 Paulina Vega of Colombia
Designer: Alfredo Barraza from Colombia
She wore this ivory sequence column gown from Colombian fashion designer Alfredo Barraza. This body-hugging evening gown was a perfect choice for Paulina as the vertical stripes made her appear tall and glamorous. The see-through mesh panels on the side were good design detail as the overall garment was simple yet stylish. Paulina stood out during the final night, it was an effortless attire she wore for both the preliminary competition and the final night.
Miss Universe 2015 Pia Wurtzbach of the Philippines
Preliminary Designer: Oliver Tolentino from the Philippines
Final Designer: Albert Andrada from the Philippines
The dazzling red mermaid gown by Filipino fashion designer Oliver Tolentino represents the serenity and motherly love of the Philippines. It has beautiful hand embroidery on the bodice with different-sized crystals and beads. Meanwhile, Pia's iconic royal blue mermaid dress was created by Filipino fashion designer, Albert Andrada. The color represents the crystal blue sea of the Philippines with the sensual back revealing opulent details of sun rays made in the form of beads, sequins, and crystals. To signify the sun rising in the middle of the serene blue sea of the Philippines. Overall, this was a great design appropriate for Pia as it made her queenly and sophisticated while walking down the runway during the top 10 evening gown competition.
Miss Universe 2016 Iris Mittenaer of France
Designer: Hoang Hai from Vietnam
For the preliminary competition, she wore this vibrant yellow dress by Vietnamese fashion designer Hoang Hai. The inspiration behind this bright yellow dress was sunburst to show the radiant french beauty of Iris. It was a show stealer as it was glowing on the stage because of its vibrant and saturated color this off-shoulder gown with many layers of hand embroidery made Iris look like a Hollywood star. The immaculate fit of the evening gown assembled her look outstanding during the preliminary competition. According to the fashion designer, this evening gown cost is worth 5,000 US dollars. For the final event, Iris was sparkling in this exquisite gown by Vietnamese designer Hoang Hai. This dress had a sheer full sleeve with a neck design detail that was attached to a see-through mesh fabric, it was extraordinary despite being so covered up in thousands of crystals and beads. Iris managed to look like a goddess dripping in gold. The cost of the final dress is 10,000 US dollars according to the designer.
Miss Universe 2017 Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters of South Africa
Designer Anel Botha from South Africa
Anel Botha designed this famous green velvet floor-length evening gown for Demi to wear during the preliminary competition. For the grand final event, she changed into this beige color with silver parallel lines, in a column-style dress designed by Anel Botha South African fashion designer. Featuring 30,000 hand embroidery Swarovski crystals, long sleeves with a plunging neckline, and a very high slit on the front. This was a simple dress however, Demi looked effortless and classy while wearing this dress on the final night.
Miss Universe 2018 Catriona Gray of the Philippines
Designer: Mak Tumang from the Philippines
"Adarna" the Blazing Siren, the mythical bird that could change in several fascinating guises, it's an enchanting voice that can enable complete healing to anyone who has it some artist has likened it to a mythical phoenix. It regenerates itself, which makes it a perfect symbol of resilience rising, and rebirth. Catriona has a resilient, tenacious, and unwavering spirit as she is the blazing Adarna with her rise in the glory along with hopes and dreams of her beloved country the Philippines. Inspired by the Philippines Adarna bird phoenix and the Mikimoto crown received much admiration from pageant supporters. The final gown is inspired by the beauty of the Mayon volcano located in Albay, Philippines, the hometown of Catriona Gray. Mak Tumang created a red evening gown for Miss Universe Philippines Catriona Gray is the perfect example of the modern-day Daragang Magayon she embodies the Filipina beauty, intelligence, and burning passion with crystal embellishment in this fabulous outfit. This dress received international recognization due to her remarkable performance wearing a Lava dress during the final event held in Bangkok, Thailand.
Miss Universe 2019 Zozibini Tunzi of South Africa
Designer: Biji La Maison from South Africa
Zozi wanted something impactful and honored her Xhosa heritage but at the same time, modern and enchanting. The designer looked at the past for inspiration, this striking black and white ensemble she created for Tunzi to model at the Miss Universe Preliminary Competition. The reception was overwhelmingly positive by the pageant fans. The midriff cutout gown features a thigh-high fun slit with a silver-to-go-to-blue ombre finish, the trio color melted into perfection and hugged Zozi's physique in all the right ways. She wore the head-to-toe on a stage full of single-tone evening girls. According to the fashion designer, it took a team over 1,400 hours and 132 hundred thousand beats to create this winning gown.
Miss Universe 2020 Andrea Meza of Mexico
Preliminary Designer: Edgar Lozzano from Mexico
Final Designer: Ivis Lenin from Mexico
Due to Andrea's love for outer space and the galaxy, the promenade color gown was influenced by the universe. The Mexican beauty was determined to showcase the beauty of the universe by wearing this beautiful dress during the prejudging competition. Miss Universe 2020 Andrea Meza from Mexico dazzled everyone during the final night when she walk in a shimmering fringe red gown designed by Mexican designer Ivis Lenin. The magnificent red dress took almost a year to be put together by stylist Jacob de Alba. The silk attire was hand embroidered with more than 40,000 crystals with detailed fringes of Cantillo and crystals in the shape of arches dispersed evenly the outfit also features a slim oval neckline.
Miss Universe 2021 Harnaaz Sandhu of India
Preliminary Designer: Pankaj and Nidhi from India
Final Designer: Saisha Shinde from India
Preliminary rose gold orchid gown from the afterglow collection crafted by Indian designers Pankaj and Nidhi. It was constructed on a sheer orchid tool fabric and embellished in a molten applique. It embodies the glistening glow of sunset above the rippled surface of the water delighted to have designed this gown for Harnaaz. The shimmering gown complements her personality to bring glory to India after 21 long years. The final dress was designed by an Indian designer - Saisha Shinde to celebrate Harnaaz's hometown Punjab. The inspiration from the pulkaryo motif is both very symmetric and geometric, with lots of linear lines in it which the designer tried to incorporate into the gown. The champion silver gown is symmetric along with linear lines to make her look taller. The crystal Swarovski chain tassels embellish with embroidery stones and sequins. There is intricate hand embroidery with thousands of crystals attached to the gown. Harnaaz believes in sustainability, so the design team used embroidery material lying around at the studio - says the fashion designer.
Miss Universe 2022 R'Bonney Gabriel from the United States of America
Preliminary Designer: Rian Fernandez from the Philippines
Final Designer: Rian Fernandez from the Philippines
Filipino fashion designer Rian Fernandez made both of the evening gowns worn by Miss Universe 2022 R'Bonney Gabriel. A velvety Rian Fernandez fully handcrafted figure-hugging deep neckline shoulder studded gown. The black color of the gown represents competence and sophistication. The gunmetal accents epitomize the strength and remarkable resilience of R'Bonney Gabriel and the power of the United States of America. The black onyx and the glass mirror drops are symbols of reflection and self-growth. The fringe skirt depicts the movement of life with blue sapphire Swarovski stones that stand for the new era of emerging women. Truly this piece is a vivid portrayal of a phenomenal Queen!
These are the winning evening gowns of Miss Universe winners from 2011 until 2022. Every year, we witness captivating, innovative, creative evening gowns produced by international designers on the Miss Universe stage. Tell us, which are your favorite evening gowns worn by the Miss Universe winners in the comments section.
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