On Oct. 4, organizers of Cebu’s biggest and grandest beauty pageant just fulfilled this goal. It showed Cebu what beauty and glamour truly means through “Femme Fatale”: The Binibining Cebu Evening Gown Competition. It was not the usual gown competition.
Taking place at the Centerstage of SM Seaside City Cebu, the 54 Binibining Cebu candidates channelled in their classy and seductive side as they donned exquisitely-designed gowns crafted by their chosen designers. The show generally revolved around the theme “femme fatale”, a French term which translates to “dangerous woman”. The term is used to pertain to a woman who embodies intelligence and s*x appeal to manipulate a man into indulging her desires.
Multi-awarded furniture designer and chairman of the board of judges Kenneth Cobonpue said that the founders of Binibining Cebu wanted to fuse art and entertainment that draws away from the traditional ones in its category.
Cobonpue and his team turned the Centerstage into a broadway-like studio. Cobonpue designed the stage where he created a 6-foot high catwalk and a zigzag ramp that allowed the candidates to sashay their way to the sight of the crowd. They were accompanied by the Cebu Philharmonic Orchestra and several singers top billed by renowned Pinoy singer Radha Cuadrado.
The evening gown competition had become an exhilarating feast of the senses which could be summarized by the audience’s utter awe of the candidates’ exquisite gowns highlighting the ladies’ individuality and the thrill of being transported to the age of tuxedos, classic gun barrel scenes, and the iconic James Bond himself.
Cobonpue emphasized that in this category, the winner had been defined according to how she flawlessly bore her poise, carried herself, and exuded confidence on the stage regardless of the gown she wore.
The evening gown competition, the third pre-pageant competition before the coronation night, makes up 25 percent of the total criteria for judging used to determine the Top 20 candidates.
It was judged by television host and columnist Divine Lee-Go, Larrazabal Eye Group chairman and founder Potenciano “Yong” Larrazabal III, Miss Asia Pacific Int’l Pageant president and former CEO of Mutya Ng Pilipinas Jacqueline Tan Sainz, multi-Palanca award-winning writer and professional theater performer Njel De Mesa, and Cobonpue himself.
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Dominic Yasay
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