National costume for Miss Earth revealed
Miss Namibia Second Runner Up, Diana Andimba, selected to represent Namibia at the Miss Earth 2022 competition revealed her national costume for the pageant set to take place in Manila, Philippines recently.
The Pageant themed “Me loves Fauna”, emphasizes the importance of caring for animal life, to give awareness of how animal life, whether wildlife or domestic, and especially the endangered species are essential to the environment, a statement released this week said.
According to the statement from Miss Namibia National Pageant Director, Umbi Karuaihe-Upi, national Miss Earth title holders are encouraged to use the pageant as a platform to raise awareness of their advocacy of fauna, they are representing and showcasing the beauty & environmental efforts of their country.
“Miss Earth Namibia, Diana Andimba has chosen to promote the conservation of the endangered pangolin. Her national costume has to depict the Fauna whose conservation she is depicting, which is that of the endangered pangolin,” she said.
She also was tasked to submit a photoshoot wearing her “fauna” attire. This is a creative photoshoot shot in the real or simulated habitat of the chosen animal. The National Costume is one of the requirements for the final judging of the pageant, she added.
Pangolins are the only mammals in the world that are covered in scales as can be seen on the dress sketched and designed by Bethany Beukes-Kapa and made by Dawn Diergaardt.
“As the Miss Namibia pageant started a new chapter and new beginning, new methods and ideas were also birthed. The pageant always holds space on the stage for the beautiful contestants to show off their grace and beauty by walking the stage in evening gowns fitting their personality,” Karuaihe-Upi said.
“As a team, it was decided that the opportunity should be afforded to proudly Namibian designers to dress the selected candidates for the upcoming international pageants. The selection process was based on the type of attire designers make; evening wear is a good benchmark as well as a reference made to their previous showings at the annual MTC Windhoek Fashion Week,” she added.
According to Karuaihe-Upi, this gave a good chance for seasoned designers as well as debut upcoming designers to showcase their skills.
“This helped the Miss Namibia team in picking designers who fit the criteria and had an understanding of pageantry. In this selection process, nine amazing designers who were up to the challenge of creating a cohesive yet original storyline for both Miss Namibia and Miss Teen Namibia were selected.”
Andimba’s objective is to support Pangolin conservation and advocate for the protection of their habitats across the African continent, raising awareness, locally and internationally, about the plight of the pangolin and their value within the Namibian ecosystem.
Still to come in the scheduled activities of the Miss Earth Pageant are the intelligence preliminary judging, Beauty of Face preliminary judging, fitness, and form with the arrival of delegates set for 12 November.
