Gabrielle Basiano soars in her Ibong Adarna inspired National Costume for Miss Intercontinental 2022
Only a few days remain until Miss Intercontinental 2022, but Gabrielle Basiano isn’t slowing down. With her styling and wardrobe gaming always on point, you can definitely tell that both she and her team have prepared well. Proving that consistency and versatility is key, this is clearly shown with her national costume.
Lunas/Cure
Calling it Lunas or Cure, the costume revitalizes a well-known mythical creature. For this, designers Ken Batino and Jevin Salaysay drew inspiration from the 16th-century Filipino epic poem Ibong Adarna.
According to them, the story of the eponymous magical bird is synonymous with Gabrielle’s pageant journey. Stating that:
This costume centers around the story of catching a mythical bird that possesses magical power. The adarna bird, which Gabrielle is holding was incredibly beautiful and could change into many stunning forms. It is very much hard to catch which represents Gabrielle’s dedication and determination towards getting the back-to-back crown.
Incorporating more from the folklore, the costume also aims to represent the bird’s special ability. That with its knowledge of seven songs, the bird had the power to cure a fatal illness, transform anyone into stone, or put everyone to sleep.
Tying it together with Gabrielle, they share that “it demonstrates how someone has turned into stone by the Adarna bird. Which she would like to translate as a huge challenge in the pageant that she is confident to surpass. “
As enchanting and sentimental this costume might be, many pageant fans have expressed that they were underwhelmed with how it looked. Considering Gabrielle’s national costumes during Binibining Pilipinas, this one, however, was far from what they imagined.
While it is understandable that this approach is rather subdued, it is still nonetheless different and a beautiful take on a classic Filipino tale. Sure, it wasn’t able to surpass expectations, but the pageant isn’t over yet.
We’re quite confident that Gabrielle and her team has a few more tricks up their sleeves and we just have to trust them.
The finals of Miss Intercontinental 2022 will be on October 14 (October 15 here in The Philippines) in Sharm El Sheik, Egypt. As Cinderella Obeñita of the Philippines crowns her successor, Gabrielle will try to win a consecutive victory for our country.
Can she do it? Of course, she can! Best of luck to you, Gabrielle!
