The traditional fabric in Sultan Kudarat inspired Filipino-American Miss Universe 2022 R’Bonney Gabriel to create a stylish wrap-around dress which she hints she will wear to one of the events she attends someday.
The beauty queen hosted the Miss Universe Philippines 2024 National Costume Competition on April 28 at the Sultan Kudarat Provincial Capitol Gym.
Fifty-three candidates presented their ensembles based on the theme “Philippine Flora and Fauna.”
The Top 3 winners were Tamara Ocier of Tacloban, Alexie Brooks of Iloilo, and Jet Hammond of Southern California.
The coronation event of Miss Universe Philippines 2024 will take place on May 22 at the SM Mall of Asia Arena. It will be hosted by R’Bonney, who has been in the country since April.
Meanwhile, the half-Pinay beauty shared that she was “super inspired” by the traditional fabric she saw at Sultan Kudarat during her visit.
R’Bonney created a wrap-around dress using “inaul” fabric, which is a traditional colorful and intricately designed cloth woven by Maguindanaon women.
She demonstrated working on the fabric to make it into a wrap-around dress through an Instagram video, which has since earned over 16,000 likes so far.
“I was like, I gotta take (some) fabric or textiles home and I’m gonna try to make an easy dress with this,” the beauty queen said, showing a black fabric with colorful patterns.
R’Bonney was able to make a dress with a slit which she styled with a belt to hold it together.
“Oh my gosh, I love this. This is how you make fashion in half a day. Best part is, this is zero waste. I used the entire piece of fabric,” she said.
“I’m gonna style it better in the morning and probably wear it to one of the events,” R’Bonney added.
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The Filipino-American beauty is also running a contest where she will give away her “new dress design,” which she said is the “first Philippines design” she made by hand.
“GIVING AWAY MY NEW DRESS DESIGN. Most of y’all know — one of my favorite things to do is sew. Since I’ve landed in the Philippines, I’ve bought a sewing (machine) and made a dress from the inaul fabric I picked up in Sultan Kudarat,” R’Bonney said on May 1.
“This morning, I woke up and decided I wanted to run a contest giving away my first Philippines design I handmade. To Enter: Comment one of your favorite things to do [and] tag 3 [three] friends. Selecting the winner at the end of the week,” she added.
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Apart from being a beauty queen, the Filipino-American is also a sustainable fashion designer.
The Miss Universe titleholder previously visited Divisoria and Bohol. She also revealed she is studying the country’s national language.
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