Ahtisa Manalo is currently waving our flag at Miss Cosmo 2024 in Vietnam. After her podium finish at Miss Universe Philippines 2024, the beauty queen was appointed to compete in the first-ever edition of the pageant.
Last September 19, the competition held its much-awaited national costume round. Our delegate sauntered onto the stage in a show-stopping creation that harked back to an iconic fixture in Philippine mythology—the mermaid Dyesebel.
In an exclusive chat with Preview, designer Ehrran Montoya talks about the making of the fantastical look, diving into what made it an ideal representation of the country.
Ehrran Montoya on the Making of Ahtisa Manalo's "Dyesebel" National Costume at Miss Cosmo 2024
"When Patty Yap, Ahtisa's stylist, reached out to me, she told me that Ahtisa personally wanted me to create her costume for Miss Cosmo," Ehrran began narrating. He says that Patty and Ahtisa knew of his strengths in creating avant-garde ensembles inspired by aquatic life. "She said that our atelier's feng shui with bodies of water is good," he shares, "so Dyesebel was the perfect inspiration [for a national costume] as it has never been done on an international stage before."
Aside from being a nostalgic choice, referencing Dyesebel was ideal as the teleserye was also screened in Vietnam. Ehrran emphasizes that they didn't want to do a one-is-to-one replica of the Mars Ravelo character, as they had to instill a sense of finesse in the final product.
"We didn't want to copy Dyesebel's exact look as we didn't want it to appear as cosplay. If we followed her exact look, it would drown on stage," the designer states. Capturing the right proportions was key to achieving the desired effect. "The headpiece had the perfect amount of volume on top, which balanced with the bottom part of the dress," Ehrran adds.
Ehrran stayed true to Dyesebel's iconic orange color palette, utilizing iridescent organza and "monofilament," a type of nylon that provided structure. A mix of large crystals and hotfix stones was used to impart dimension and shimmer to the whole look.
Ahtisa's "fins" were a pair of handfans which she elegantly waved as she glided through the stage.
"[As a fixture in pop culture,] Dyesebel is the perfect representation of our Filipino contemporary art," Ehrran expresses, saying that our pop culture references deserve to be shared with the world.
"By bringing this to a world stage, [I hope] this would help elevate [what our beauty queens] offer aside from our usual costumes. I hope this will also pave the way for future generations of designers to create fashion-forward looks for our representatives."
Vote for Ahtisa to win the Best National Costume award here.
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