R’Bonney Gabriel of United States was named Miss Universe 2022 at the pageant’s finals night held in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA on Saturday, January 14, (Sunday morning, January 15 in Manila).
Gabriel bested 83 candidates in the competition to be USA’s ninth representative to win the title. The Filipino-American beauty queen succeeded Harnaaz Sandhu of India.
Get the highlights of this year’s pageant below, including Rappler’s recap of the pageant:
Miss Universe 2018 Catriona Gray arrives in New Orleans
Rappler.com
TOUCHDOWN! 🛬
Miss Universe 2018 Catriona Gray arrived in New Orleans, Louisiana, on Friday, January 13, for the Miss Universe 2022 pageant. Catriona will serve as a backstage commentator with American host and actress Zuri Hall. #71stMissUniverse 📸: Catriona Gray pic.twitter.com/xHz0AJInFY
LOOK: Celeste Cortesi channels Darna in Miss Universe national costume
Rappler.com
Miss Universe Philippines Celeste Cortesi went the unexpected route when it came to her national costume at the Miss Universe 2022 competition. Instead of going for traditional Filipino garb, she decided to pay homage to an icon of Pinoy pop culture: Darna.
LOOK: Celeste Cortesi stuns in Miss Universe 2022 preliminary evening gown
Rappler.com
The sky blue gown with silver embellishments and high slit was designed by Oliver Tolentino. In his Instagram, Tolentino shared a closer look of the gown’s intricate patterns and details.
LOOK: Celeste Cortesi’s swimsuit cape for Miss Universe 2022 prelims designed by kids from Marawi
Rappler.com
Reigning queen Hanaaz Sandhu, who hosted the preliminary competition, said that capes are a recent addition to the swimsuit segment, and they were designed by the candidates themselves or with the help of an artist from their respective countries.
