Brenda Jimenez, 22, is one of the favorite contenders at the Miss Universe 2016 beauty pageant in the Philippines, the home country of reigning Miss Universe 2015 Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach. She will stand out even more with her unique dress created by designer Gustavo Arango.
The dress Arango created for Jimenez to wear during the Miss Universe 2016 competition is water-inspired. He told El Nuevo Dia that he was inspired by water because he wanted Miss Puerto Rico to project liquid and reflect softness.
According to Arango, the dress, which is super carved, will be sexy not because it will show Jimenez's cleavage down to the navel but because her way of walking will carry a strong message. With her elegance, she will show that she is a candidate who has a dress with an international look that anyone can use not only in Puerto Rico but also in Paris, London and New York, the designer explained.
Arango was the designer of the Miss Universe dresses of former Miss Puerto queens Mayra Matos and Denise Quiñones. Matos was Miss Universe 2009 fourth runner-up while Quiñones won Miss Universe 2001.
Jimenez will wear a dress that is not the typical beauty contest costume, Arango claimed. The designer pointed out that the dress has the elongated silhouette seen in the dress worn by Quiñones, who became the fourth Miss Puerto Rico to win Miss Universe.
The other Miss Puerto queens to win Miss Universe were Marisol Malaret, Deborah Carthy-Dreu, Dayanara Torres and Zuleyka Rivera. Torres crowned her successor Sushmita Sen of India in the Philippines in 1994.
Both Torres and Sen are returning to the Philippines as judges of Miss Universe 2016. Originally, Miss Universe Puerto 2016 Kristhielee Caride was set to represent the country but after her dethronement, Jimenez, the first runner-up, was assigned as her replacement.
Meanwhile, Jimenez's mother Brenda Hernández Calderón recently told Primera Hora that she admires her daughter immensely because she does not take into account the fatigue she may have. Instead, the Miss Puerto Rico candidate continues with greater strength every time to fulfill her mandate, the mother said.
Watch Jimenez's visit in Baguio City, Philippines, on Jan. 18 with her fellow Miss Universe 2016 candidates and Wurtzbach here: