In an exclusive interview with MEGA, Michael Leyva shared the design process of creating Celeste Cortesi’s evening gown
People are still on a high from this year’s Miss Universe, and some are wondering what could’ve been Celeste Cortesi‘s evening gown for the main competition. Fortunately, we were able to see the gorgeous gown as Filipino designer Michal Leyva revealed it through an Instagram post just yesterday. Though the beauty queen wore it in one of their fittings, we can already tell that the design was nothing but exquisite.
RELATED: Celeste Cortesi Ends Her Journey as Miss Universe Philippines
In an exclusive interview with MEGA, Michael Leyva took us behind the creation of Celeste Cortesi’s evening gown as he shared the design process of creating it, as well as his sentiments towards the beauty queen.
Approached last November 2022, Michael Leyva already knew that the gown for Celeste Cortesi should be a manifestation of her beauty, passion, personality. He took his time to review her past looks from Miss Universe Philippines and the pieces she had lined up as she competed for the crown.
“When I design, I want it to be different. I want the design to be a representation of their personality, and for it to be a form of elevating their beauty rather than them being outshined.”
Michael Leyva
In just two months, Michael Leyva was able to design at least eight evening gowns for the beauty queen. Most were in the shade of sky blue, a color that Celeste has grown fond of, the designer said that it wasn’t difficult to make a gown for her. “She was honestly just really beautiful. The only thing I wanted to do through my designs is to accentuate the beauty she already has.”
As seen on his Instagram post, Celeste was donned in a figure-hugging halter gown that had sky blue Swarovski crystals that cascaded down from the neckline to hem, and a soft cape at the back. Each design element was carefully chosen by the designer as he shared to us the reason behind his design. The sky blue was picked to amplify the meaning of her name, which is celestial or a goddess, while the cape was added to give her a heavenly feature as she walked—a vision that the designer saw as the beauty queen practiced in the design.
By the time Celeste had to wear the final gown, Michael expressed that he felt the excitement and goosebumps as the beauty queen walked gracefully during their fittings.
Though there were eight designs, Celeste was drawn to the crystal embellished gown. For Michael, he resonated with the sentiment, seeing that the design was able to highlight the beauty and personality of our Miss Universe Philippines. He saw the determination she had as she practiced with the designs on, and her passion to win the crown while she worked closely with the designer.
“Her determination and hardworking nature is what I recall the most from Celeste. You can see it in her eyes—she wanted to make our country proud.”
Michael Leyva
Photos from MICHAEL LEYVA
