Image courtesy of www.missuniverse.com
Given that Ariella Arida was considered a frontrunner on pageant night and actually aced the question-and-answer portion that many had feared she would have difficulty with, many are still wondering and analyzing why Miss Philippines still fell short of winning Miss Universe in Moscow on Saturday (early Sunday, Manila time).
It seems like the blame now goes to her choice of gowns in the competition. From the national costume terno to the yellow evening gown that she wore during the preliminary competitions and the coronation night, feedback was mostly unflattering and even downright harsh.
While praise was largely universal for the way Arida carried her gowns, both the national costume and the evening wear themselves were far from well-received, especially given that the other contestants also did a good job of carrying what many considered to be better-designed gowns.
“During the Miss Universe national costume show, Miss Philippines disappointed fans for her traditional terno dress. Even her yellow, off shoulder evening gown was not impressive enough,” posted the Dubai-based Emirates 24/7 in a post-pageant report.
Aside from those two dresses, the blue gown that Arida wore on her official pre-arrival photos posted in the Miss Universe website did not escape flak as well.
Image courtesy of www.missuniverse.com
As it turns out, Alfredo Barraza, the Colombian designer who designed Arida’s gowns, has been drawing harsh criticism for his creations for Philippine representatives to Miss Universe for many years.
In a 2011 article posted by Missosology.org, a reputable site specializing in analyzing beauty pageants, Barraza was described as “the most hated man in the Philippines”.
“Year in and year out Alfredo Barraza has disappointed Filipino pageant fanatics. Critics have been extremely harsh on this Colombian designer, a very close friend of Stella Marquez Araneta, Binibining Pilipinas’ pageant madame.
“Alfredo Barraza has been blamed for sabatoging Miss Philippines candidates with his lackluster evening gown designs sometimes deemed by Filipinos as “THE BASURA CUMBIA” creations. To add insult to injury, Mr. Barraza also designs for the reinas de Colombia (pageant queens). And when he designs for Miss Universe Colombia, the gowns are always superior to that of his Miss Universe Philippines!” the site posted.
After Arida’s loss, the clamor to have a Filipino designer take over in designing the gowns for the country’s Miss Universe representative has been renewed, this time by a good number of social media netizens who have also aired their displeasure over what many of them believe are the Binibining Pilipinas organizers’ choice of wear for Miss Philippines.
