Adè van Heerden revealed two of her pageant costumes today as she prepares to compete as Miss World South Africa in the Miss World competition in China on November 18.
Twenty six-year-old Van Heerden, from the Western Cape, will be representing South Africa against 123 other countries in the competition, which is watched by almost one billion people worldwide.
The 67th Miss World competition will take place at the Crown of Beauty Theatre in Sanya, China (People's Republic of China) when Puerto Rico’s Stephanie Del Valle will crown her successor at the end of the event.
Van Heerden showed off her national costume as well as a gold dress designed by Roxanne Pengilly which she will wear at the official Miss World auction.
Van Heerden’s national costume has been designed by Matome Seshoka of Antherline Designs, who has been described as the master connoisseur of African couture. Her finale gown has been designed by Roxanne Pengilly, while Danielle Margaux is making the official Miss World Designer Competition outfit and Ciska Barnard has made Van Heerden's cocktail wear.
Says Seshoka: “My team and I were inspired by Ndebele people who have an extraordinary culture and authenticity. They are the most colourful tribe and truly South African. We fused this with a bit of Zulu culture to give the national costume a modern and young feel. The colours of our national flag give it a proudly South African look. We included a cape because this represents power and strength and is usually worn by Zulu queens."
Margaux, who is responsible for the Miss World Designer Competition gown, says: “The inspiration for the dress is the ocean, as South Africa is on the tip of Africa and surrounded by the sea, and both Adè and I are from the Western Cape. We did not want to take a literal interpretation of South Africa with regards to animal print; the ocean is also a very big part, which often gets neglected. So we liked the idea of bringing in something quite unexpected. We are taking inspiration from the movement of the waves, creatures and plants of the sea. To make it more dreamlike and mythical, we are even taking inspiration from mermaid-like imaging. Soft, flowy, dreamy and fit for a princess!”
She continues: “The colours are what you would imagine and we are also bringing in a little bit of gold as we feel that our dress can be representative of the ‘green and gold’ that is associated with the national colours of South Africa. It is very subtle though.”
Says Pengilly of the Miss World finale gown: “The brief was to turn Adè into a princess and, since I consider my personal design style a bit romantic and fairy-tale, I was immediately inspired. We want this to be Adé’s Cinderella moment! She employed the ultimate in positive thinking when she took the colour inspiration from the colour of the stones in the Miss World crown, deciding that the dress and the crown would match perfectly when it was ultimately placed on her head. The result is an ethereal blue ball gown fit for a queen."
Says Ciska Barnard: "When I was asked to design for Adé, I had a short but clear brief: Fashionable, feminine and colourful. So with that in mind and with the beautiful Adé as my muse, I designed two jumpsuit day outfits and two cocktail dresses, which she can feel beautiful and confident in while wearing them on her Miss World campaign."
Van Heerden, a qualified doctor, is a second lieutenant in the South African Military Health Services and comes from the Western Cape. She won Protea colours in rhythmic gymnastics at the age of 13 and was a gold medal winner at the All African Championships. She will be doing a ribbon dance as part of the talent section at the Miss World pageant.
Van Heerden is delighted to be representing South Africa on the Miss World stage: “I could not have asked for a more incredible opportunity and I am determined to give it my all and to make our country proud. I look forward to sharing with the world my passion to protect and heal human kind.”
Pageant coach and fashion stylist Werner Wessels and Miss South Africa stylist Noreen Kajee-Vareta have assisted Van Heerden ahead of her departure.
Adè, who was the runner–up at this year’s Miss South Africa pageant, will compete at the Miss World stage as Miss World South Africa 2017. Miss South Africa 2017, Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters will be competing in the same month in the Miss Universe contest.
The 2018 Miss South Africa pageant will be staged next year by licence holders Sun International, in collaboration with Cell C.
Social media links:
Website: www.suninternational.com/
Website: www.missworld.com
Twitter: @official_misssa
Twitter: @MissWorldLtd
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/
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Hashtag:
Ade: #Ade4MissWorld
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