Ukraine's Viktoria Apanasenko reveals national costume for 71st Miss Universe


Miss Universe Ukraine 2022 Viktoria Apanasenko finally revealed her symbolic national costume for the 71st Miss Universe pageant.

The "Warrior of Light" costume symbolizes her nation's fight against the darkness, like an archangel Michael with a sword protecting Ukraine. It was completed in four months of extreme conditions, to the sound of sirens, without electricity, and by candlelight.

In addition to a weapon in her hand, the costume also features a monolithic jumpsuit that covers Viktoria's body like armor, a vyshyvanka-styled white dress with puffy sleeves and skirt with over 10 meters of fabric, a beautiful headpiece, and wings inspired by the colors of the Ukrainian flag.

"It is the personification of inner strength, courage, determination and will flowing in our veins. War cannot break our strength and will not discolor our hearts. Ukraine will bloom like a phoenix even in a fire. It shines with bright rays of kindness and faith," Viktoria shared on social media.

"We are all true warriors of light - unbreakable, made of steel, who will definitely defeat the darkness and evil that has come to our land," she added.

Designed by costume designer Lesia Patoka, the meaningful national costume will be showcased during the upcoming 71st Miss Universe pageant in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA this January.

Photos: Olena Rozbytska / Miss Ukraine

Popular posts from this blog

Miss Alabama USA 2024 is Diane Westhoven

Image
Miss Southern Plains, Diane Westhoven was crowned Miss Alabama USA 2024 during the state final on Saturday, June 1 at Auburn University's Jay and Susie Gogue Performing Arts Center. The 21-year-old student from Birmingham will now prepare to represent Alabama at Miss USA 2024 this summer in Hollywood, California. She succeeds Sophie Burzynski, last year's winner and Miss USA 2023 Top 20 semifinalist. Diane is currently studying psychology at Auburn University with the goal of empowering others to feel confident in their physical and emotional well-being. View this post on Instagram A post shared by RPM Productions, Inc (@rpmproductions) FINAL RESULTS Miss Alabama USA 2024 - Diane Westhoven (Southern Plains) 1st runner-up - Ashlyn Powers (Fairhope) 2nd runner-up - Allyssa Weyant (Lake Jordan) 3rd runner-up - Olivia Burchfield (Magic City) 4th runner-up - Halle Sullivan (Northport) TOP 10 Maleigha Lewis (Enterprise) Melody Mills (Bailey Cove) Margaret Anne Mc...
Read more

Plus-sized Sara Milliken crowned Miss Alabama for National American Miss 2024

Image
Plus-sized beauty Sara Milliken was crowned the National American Miss Alabama 2024 during the state final held on May 27 at the Renaissance Marriot in Montgomery. The 23-year-old model and mental health advocate from Atmore, Alabama is now expected to represent her home state at the National American Miss 2024 competition later this year. "This is a dream that has been 8 years in the making for me," said the new National American Miss Alabama who first joined the state pageant when she was 15 years old. After enduring bullying upon her return at the age of 16, she decided to take a break from joining for 7 years. However, this year, she mustered up the courage to give the crown another shot. "I returned to the NAM stage to prove to myself I didn't give up. I could do this. I was more than the mean things that was said to me," Sara wrote online. "I was authentically myself. I had fun. I had the most genuine smile on my face. I wasn't perfect." In r...
Read more

Miss Exclusive 2023: Meet the 15 finalists

Image
The Miss Exclusive 2023 (Miss Earth Belgium 2023) grand final will be held tonight in Zottegem with a live broadcast from 9 p.m. local time on MENT TV . A total of 15 selected contestants will battle it out for the national title currently held by reigning Miss Exclusive and Miss Earth 2022 Top 8 finalist Daphne Nivelles. In addition to Miss Earth, the Miss Exclusive organization has recently announced its acquisition of the license for another major pageant — Miss International. The winners of the national competition are expected to represent Belgium at Miss Earth 2023 in Vietnam and Miss International 2023 in Japan later this year. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Miss Exclusive (@missexclusiveofficial) Tonight's magical event themed "1001 Exclusive Nights" will also feature reigning Miss Earth from Korea Mina Sue Choi who has been invited as a special guest. The current Miss International Jasmin Selberg of Germany was also announced la...
Read more

Miss Slovenia 2024 is Amadea Zupan from Sežana

Image
Amadea Zupan was crowned Miss Slovenia 2024 (Miss World Slovenia) in a national competition held on Friday, January 10 in Lendava. The 26-year-old medical student at the University of Ljubljana beat 12 other contestants to win the title. She received the crown from her predecessor Alida Tomanič. Katja Zver was named first runner-up while Neja Prosenjak finished as second runner-up and also bagged the Miss Personality award. The new Miss Slovenia is expected to represent her country at the Miss World competition. "I don't think I have quite understood the whole event yet. Indescribable happiness and a wonderful end of the year, full of extraordinary experience and incredible people," Amadea said in an interview after winning her crown. Meet the new queen: View this post on Instagram A post shared by MISS SLOVENIA for MISS WORLD (@miss.slovenia) Photos: Miss Slovenia / Instagram
Read more

Miss France 2025 is Angélique Angarni-Filopon of Martinique

Image
Angélique Angarni-Filopon from Martinique beat 29 other contestants to win Miss France 2025 on Saturday, December 14 at the Futuroscope Arena in Vienne, Nouvelle-Aquitaine. The 34-year-old flight attendant became the oldest winner of the prestigious national pageant. She also made history as the first woman from Martinique to become Miss France. Sabah Aïb of Nord-Pas-de-Calais was named first runner-up while Stella Vangioni of Corsica, Moïra André of Guadeloupe, and Lilou Emeline-Artuso of Côte d'Azur were the second, third, and fourth runners-up, respectively. Contestants from Alsace, Isabella Hébert, Aquitaine, Laura Marque, Bourgogne, Clara Diry, Champagne-Ardenne, Louison Thevenin, Lorraine, Assia Roosz-Tomenti, Midi-Pyrénées, Olivia Sirena, Normandie, Lucile Lecellier, Picardie, Marina Przadka, Rhône-Alpes, Alexcia Couly, and Tahiti, Temanava Domingo made the Top 15. This year's competition marked the 95th edition of the annual Miss France pageant and was the first edition...
Read more

Nigeria's Samuel Nwajagu wins Mister International 2024

Image
Samuel Nwajagu of Nigeria was proclaimed the grand winner of the Mister International 2024 pageant on Saturday, December 14 in Bangkok, Thailand. Aside from the international title, the 23-year-old model also bagged the Best in Swimsuit award. He succeeds last year's winner from Thailand, Kim Goodburn. Nguyen Man Lan of Vietnam and Glenn Victor Sutanto were announced as the first and second runners-up, respectively. Anthony Henricus of the Netherlands, Justine Carl Ong of the Philippines (fan vote winner), and Rafael Dominguez of Spain rounded out the Top 6 finalists. The contestants from China, Liu Xu Adrien Lorin, Ecuador, Abel Diaz, Italy, Leonardo Castaldo, Korea, Joon-Sung Heo, and Mexico, Brian Arturo Faugier made the Top 10. Completing the Top 15 semifinalists were Colombia, Sebastian Melo Nieves, Cuba, Christian Jesus Anoceto, France, Lavigne Swann, Thailand, Chutipong Buddharak, and Venezuela, Emmanuel Serrano. The Philippines, USA, and the Netherlands received the Best in...
Read more

Miss America 2025: Meet the contestants

Image
The Miss America 2025 final competition will be held this Sunday, January 5 at The Walt Disney Theater of the Dr. Phillips Center for Performing Arts in Orlando, Florida. You can watch the Miss America as well as Miss America's Teen 2025 preliminary competition, talent competition, gala fashion show, and finals live streaming on PageantVision.com   site. Fifty-two (52) contestants from across the country are vying for the national title. One of them will be crowned by reigning Miss America Madison Marsh at the culmination of this year's pageant. Following several years of hiatus, Puerto Rico has returned to the pageant. In terms of eligibility rules, the pageant only allows unmarried women, and transgender entrants must have fully completed gender affirming surgery from male to female to participate. Back in 2023, Brían Nguyen from New Hampshire was crowned Miss Greater Derry and made history as the first-ever transgender woman to win a local competition for Miss America. Ticke...
Read more

Singapore's Madeleine Poh crowned Mrs. Petite Global 2025

Image
Singaporean lawyer Madeleine Poh was crowned Mrs. Petite Global 2025 in an international pageant held on January 9 at Shantanand Auditorium in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The 28-year-old newly-wed has made history as the first Singaporean representative to be crowned Mrs Petite Global. She also bagged several awards including Best in Evening Gown, Sport Wear, Interview, and Catwalk. Margaret Riba of Borneo clinched the Mrs. Elite Petite Global 2025 title while Jolynn Ch'ng of Malaysia, Ruby Tran of Vietnam, Aya Sakuma of Japan, and Tomomi Mori, also from Japan, were proclaimed the runners-up. "As the first Singaporean to win this prestigious international title, I believe this is a significant achievement for our country," said the new Mrs. Petite Global. "As a lawyer and a strong advocate for increased access to legal justice, I am committed to using this platform to raise awareness about important social issues and inspire other petite married women to pursue their dre...
Read more

71st Miss World: Meet the delegates from Bolivia, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Honduras and Venezuela

Image
Over 20 beauties have already been confirmed as representatives of their respective countries and territories for the 71st Miss World edition. The final competition and official venue of the prestigious pageant are yet to be announced by the Miss World Organization. Reigning queen Karolina Bielawska of Poland, the second Polish to win Miss World, will crown her successor at the end of the event. Here are the delegates from Bolivia, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Honduras, and Venezuela: Miss World Bolivia 2021 Fernanda Rivero is 20 years old and currently pursuing her bachelor’s degree in International Trade. She won the title Miss Bolivia Mundo 2021 while representing Beni during the national competition held in August last year. Miss World Costa Rica 2022 Krisly Salas, a 24-year-old nutrition student and founder of the social project “Cuenta Conmigo” was named Señorita Costa Rica last February. The purpose of the project is to be a voice of encouragement to those who suffer from anxiety...
Read more

Miss America 2025 is Abbie Stockard of Alabama

Image
Abbie Stockard from Vestavia Hills, Alabama was crowned Miss America 2025 on Sunday, January 5 at The Walt Disney Theater of the Dr. Phillips Center for Performing Arts in Orlando, Florida. The 22-year-old nursing student and cheerleader at Auburn University beat 51 other contestants to win the national title. She succeeds last year's winner, active duty Air Force officer Madison Marsh of Colorado. Annette Addo-Yobo of Texas was named the first runner-up while Carley Jaymes Vogel of Tennessee, Casana Fink of Florida, and Stephanie Finoti of Ohio were the second, third, and fourth runners-up, respectively. The contestants from Colorado, Alexandra Lotko, Georgia, Ludwig Louizaire, Minnesota, Emily Schumacher, Oklahoma, Lauren Frost, South Carolina, Davis Wash, and Wisconsin, Mandi Jo Genord completed the Top 11 semifinalists. The new Miss America will reign along Miss America's Teen 2025 from Arkansas, Peytonn Bolling, who was crowned at the same venue on Saturday, January 4 by o...
Read more