The heavy burden of MJ Lastimosa in her evening gown

Can you imagine MJ Lastimosa being 20 pounds overweight for the Miss Universe competition? That must be the feeling she had while strutting her gown during the formal wear segment. And if you’re also wondering why she didn’t look as comfortable strutting the stage, then the bulk of her gown must be a major reason.

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And before you start blaming Barraza again or harp about another Stella-Colombia conspiracy, let me tell you that the gown is not a haphazard creation. There could be hundreds of hours spent just making that gown, possibly more. The intricate details of the dress belie any speculation that it was a ‘rush’ or ‘non-priority’ design: Tens of thousands of little beads, and thousands of pearl drops and sea shell petals have been individually sewn on the dress by hand. The beading alone would have taken days if not weeks to do. No wonder, Jeannie Mai even commented during the competition that there are literally thousands of somethings in MJ’s gown.

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However, those same ‘thousands of somethings’ also made the dress super heavy. Can you imagine wearing a ten kilo dress literally made of capiz shells? That translates to more than 20 pounds. Sure, it was done before–Zuleyka’s winning gown was a chainmail from Mt. Doom (hehe). But that was eons ago, and the MU judges were in awe back then because it was their first time to see such a creation.

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MJ’s dress on the other hand, despite those intricate and beautiful beadwork, wasn’t out of the ordinary. It was a generic design unlike Zuleyka’s. And that was the downfall of the already heavily-burdened dress.