Outfits at Miss Philippines Earth 2017

From left: Kim de Guzman, Olongapo City, in Ricky Abad swimwear; Elizabeth Amahan. El Salvador, wins Best Cultural Attire by Jie-Jie Aisa; and Sandrine Stoelzaed, Puerto Princesa, wins Best in Long Gown by Cleo Diomampo.

 A new set of Miss Philippines Earth queens were crowned at the Mall of Asia Arena on July 15.

All 40 candidates representing their cities and municipalities were eye-catching, but the winners are some of the most articulate contenders, a quality that pageant organizers Carousel Productions seek to advance its advocacy of actively promoting and getting involved in the preservation of the environment and the protection of Mother Earth.

The 2017 advocate-queens are Miss Philippines Earth 2017 Karen Ibasco of Manila, Miss Philippines Air 2017 Kim de Guzman of Olongapo City, Miss Philippines Water 2017 Jessica Marasigan of Caloocan City, Miss Philippines Fire 2017 Nellza Bautista of Villanueva, Misamis Oriental, and Miss Philippines Eco-Tourism 2017 Vanessa Mae Castillo of Lobo, Batangas.

The winners have been celebrated. Now, here is a tribute to the people behind their fantastic looks during the preliminaries and on pageant night.

The crowns

Arnel Papa, designer: “The crowns are made from brass materials with the leaves made of Swarovski stones. The difference is that the color red represents fire, blue represents water, yellow represents air, green represents eco tourism and the winning crown have all the colors.”

Miss Philippines Earth 2017 winners: Karen Ibasco of the City of Manila (center). She is joined by her       elemental court: Miss Philippines Fire - Nellza Bautista of Villanueva, Misamis Oriental; Miss Philippines Air - Kim de Guzman of Olongapo; Miss Philippines Water - Jessica Marasigan of Caloocan; Miss Philippines Eco-Tourism - Vanessa Mae Castillo of Lobo, Batangas. 

The gowns

Chico Estiva for Karen Ibasco: “It is made of patterned beadwork in sequins, bars and Swarovskis. I used soft tulle as a base and circular bias for a flowy full skirt with pleated organdy on the edge to give a fuller movable skirt.”

Karen, 26, is trained by the Kagandahang Flores beauty camp of Rodgil Flores, who produced past Miss Earth winners such as Karla Henry (2008), Jamie Herrell (2014) and Angelia Ong (2015).

                                                          Karen Ibasco, Manila, in Chico Estiva

Bessie Besana for Jessica Marasigan: “One of the reasons why I pursued fashion is because of the influence of pageants to me. So, it is not a surprise that when women who I believed in me tapped me to create gowns for them. I deeply put my mind into creating the garment. Jessica is seen wearing a pink #BessieBesana silk trumpet gown cinched at the waist and embellished with crystals at the neckline and waist. This is one of the gowns I really enjoyed working on.”

Jessica, 23, might be familiar to a lot of people because she is one of the members of “It’s Showtime’s” Girltrends.

                                                     Jessica Marasigan, Caloocan City, in Bessie Besana

Juniel Doring for Nellza Bautista: The deep sea green serpentine gown is inspired by the vast coral reefs and the subsisting marine life of Misamis Oriental, organically tinged from various leaves of plants and grasses to achieve the distinctive pigment of the lace, intricately sculptured to bring out this Miss Earth-worthy creation. It’s embellished with crystals and rhinestones, and accentuated with pearls.

Nellza, 19, also won Miss New Placenta while wearing a “Trash to Clash” outfit by Vinzwha Mortola. She was coached for the pageant, along with Miss Ozamiz City Celine Mae Pangan and Miss Manolo Fortich Carmella Quirog, by Dennis Almazan.

Kim de Guzman, Olongapo City, in Paolo Blanco

Juniel Doring for Nellza Bautista: The deep sea green serpentine gown is inspired by the vast coral reefs and the subsisting marine life of Misamis Oriental, organically tinged from various leaves of plants and grasses to achieve the distinctive pigment of the lace, intricately sculptured to bring out this Miss Earth-worthy creation. It’s embellished with crystals and rhinestones, and accentuated with pearls.

Nellza, 19, also won Miss New Placenta while wearing a “Trash to Clash” outfit by Vinzwha Mortola. She was coached for the pageant, along with Miss Ozamiz City Celine Mae Pangan and Miss Manolo Fortich Carmella Quirog, by Dennis Almazan.

Nellza Bautista, Villanueva, Misamis Oriental, in Juniel Doring

Roy Erwin Tizon for Vanessa Mae Castillo: “This lovely Loboan is wearing a muted, French tulle beige gown with floral embroideries bedecked with Swarovski crystals. The flowery pattern symbolizes a woman’s femininity while the structured vertical lines represent her strength and tenacity. I made the design for her as she embodies how a true beauty queen should be, poised, with regal bearing and has a good attitude.”

Vanessa Mae, 21, also won Miss Eco Warrior. She was also trained via Skype by US-based pageant coach Jil Lasaca.

Vanessa Mae Castillo, Lobo, Batangas, in Roy Erwin Tizon

Cleo Diomampo for Sandrine Stoelzaed of Puerto Princesa, who won Best in Long Gown: “It is a taupe flimsy bustier flowing gown accentuated with patch embroidered lacework on the front bodice, metallic dust on the fabric and Swarovskis on the breast area. (It was) designed by Cleo Diomampo for Top Strata Events Management.”

Sandrine Stoelzaed, Puerto Princesa, wins Best in Long Gown by Cleo Diomampo

The swimwear

Ricky Abad, designer: “This year inspired me to do swimsuits in nylon, Lycra and metallic spandex

for the strong woman, which relates to the theme women empowerment. I chose dark brown and gold to represent strength and power, gold belt to add confidence and sexiness, with minimal accessories.”

In the pre-pageant swimsuit round, however, the candidates wore swimwear of their own choosing. Sherlyn Legaspi Doloriel of Cagayan de Oro was adjudged Best in Swimsuit.

Sherlyn Legaspi Doloriel, Cagayan de Oro, wins Best in Swimsuit

The cultural attire

Jie-Jie Aisa for Miss El Salvador Elizabeth Amahan won the award: “It is a Kuyamis-inspired Philippine terno made of landay cloth, coconut shells and coconut leaves embellished with wooden beads, exquisitely representing the evolution of culture in Misamis Oriental.

Kuyamis is a variety of sweet coconut, which became famous during the colonization of the province by the Spaniards. The colonization dislocated a significant number of Higaonons then occupying the province and, in effect, brought changes in the ways of living by Misamisnons, including the introduction of a culture inspired by the abundance of coconut trees in the province.” 

Elizabeth Amahan, El Salvador, wins Best Cultural Attire by Jie-Jie Aisa

SOURCE:http://www.philstar.com/entertainment/2017/08/03/1724346/look-outfits-miss-philippines-earth-2017