Quote:
Originally posted by Sistermadly
Cutie, maybe you can answer this -- my hubby said last night that there was some "controversy" with Miss Canada because she leased her dress from -- get this -- drag queens.  Is there any truth to it?
|
Yes, there *IS* some truth to that controversy! READ ON......
Here's a blurb from
The National Post:
"The controversial "national costume" worn by Miss Canada in this week's Miss Universe competition was a rental inspired by the Brazilian carnaval tradition and originally worn by a drag queen in several gay pride parades.
Ronei Fernandes, a Toronto costume designer, created and wore the costume in 2001. He recently rented it to Denis Davila, national director for Miss Universe Canada, for $600, said Jamie Good, a friend of Mr. Fernandes' who is familiar with the agreement.
In an interview with the Post earlier this week, Mr. Davila said he and two friends designed the costume. It was supposed to symbolize Canada's multiculturalism: The feathers were inspired by costumes seen at Toronto's Caribana festival, he said, and the rest represented the penny.
But Mr. Good said the costume is Mr. Fernandes' creation.
"I just think that whoever made it, designed it, had the idea for it and spent the time and creativity making it should be the one who gets the credit, not someone who just rents it," he said.
The costume's history came to light after several fashion experts expressed disappointment with Miss Canada's choice of costume earlier this week. The Miss Universe competition is underway in Panama.
Reached at his hotel yesterday, Mr. Davila confirmed he had rented Miss Canada's costume from Mr. Fernandes. He stressed it was "very, very, similar" to a design the Miss Canada staff had originally developed for the Miss Universe competition.
Mr. Davila said they had to rent the costume from Mr. Fernandes at the last minute because the people who were supposed to make the costume "couldn't come up with the time to make it.
"The idea that we had fit in with what he had," Mr. Davila said. "Ronei is a good person; he deserves some of the credit."
The costume Leanne Cecile wore in the Monday night competition did change slightly since Mr. Fernandes debuted it. He wore a red, sequined gown with the rest of the outfit, but Ms. Cecile wore a beaded bikini that Mr. Fernandes provided from his existing collection. Mr. Good said he personally bought the feathers for the costume while he was in Brazil, and they were not ordered from New York as Mr. Davila had originally claimed.
Mr. Fernandes refused an interview request, saying he was bound by the terms of the rental agreement between himself and Mr. Davila.
He originally wore the patriotic costume at gay pride parades in Montreal and Toronto in 2001. Pictures of him at the events appeared on the front pages of newspapers and in alternative magazines. Perhaps fittingly, one reporter who covered the Toronto event wrote that Mr. Fernandes' outfit "converted him into a sort of male Miss Canada."
Mr. Fernandes' outfit was inspired by the Brazilian carnaval tradition, not the Caribbean themes associated with Toronto's Caribana street festival, Mr. Good added.
Ms. Cecile, who is from Tecumseh, Ont., did not win the competition. But one Panamanian newspaper said her costume was "the most applauded of the night.""
------------------------------------------------------
I have to say, while it is well, a bit "overwhelming", people were definitely talking about it. This is quite something, considering that Canada has faded into the background at MU in the past. And some people have complained that the costume was not "Canadian enough".... I mean, really, should we send a girl dressed in a Mountie outfit (It's been done in the past) or a hockey outfit?
(Puh-leeze) I think the idea of MU is try to look attractive here! LOL.....
You're so right, who
better to know about glitz and glamour than drag queens?!
*****************************************
There was also a 2nd (and separate) controversy about Leanne wearing a sealskin dress by an Inuit designer:
http://www.nunatsiaq.com/news/nunavut/30523_03.html
In the end, Leanne did not wear the dress, because she would have been dying of the heat in Panama (it's like 30C there!!! 86F for the Americans
) and also due to anti-fur pressures.
I assume that the dress would have been for the fashion show (which goes on in the prelims) but not in the actuall competition (mind you, Japan wore a bikini top so who really knows??)
Linear Mode
