Pageant Minute:The New Miss Universe 2011 is...Miss Angola, Leila Lopes!!!

The Most Beautiful Woman in The Universe

The new Miss Universe, Leila Lopes of Angola, being crowned by last year's Miss Universe, Ximena Navarette of Mexico

Last night was the Finale of the Miss Universe 2011 Pageant. As you may know--if you've been following my BLOG--it was held in São Paulo Brazil, and yes, I've been having a BLAST doing my "armchair" Fashion Reviews of those gowns--The Good, The Hoochie, and the Trends. The show was broadcast LIVE on NBC and Telemundo here in the US. And of course, I watched! In fact, I was invited to a FAB Viewing Party in Hollywood last night by the one-and-only former Miss Universe 1997 Brook Lee!

Miss Universe 2011, Leila Lopes in Evening Gown and Swimsuit

The Winner was Miss Angola, the exotic and oh-so-stunning Leila Lopes. She was one of my favorites in terms of her evening gown back when I reviewed BOTH the "Official Evening Gown Portraits" as well as last week's Preliminaries. She was NOT a favorite to win amongst the well-versed "Pageant Watchers"/Missosologists.

Leila Costume: Miss Universe 2011 Leila Lopes in her "Miss Angola" National Costume

But HUUUUUNEEEEYYY: The minute that show began and the Top 16 were announced, she STOLE the show!!!! The 5'10" stunner lit up the entire stage the minute the camera hit her! In fact, the minute I saw her on TV, I turned to my fellow party guest, NIKOLAKI Co-Designer David Paul, and said "That's The Winner!! She's GA-GA-Gorgeous!" . She was also a BIG favorite with the audience in attendance. You could hear the shouts of support while watching the live telecast. It was quite interesting in that the mostly-Brazilian audience were cheering HER more than their own Miss Brazil!!! In case you might be Geographically-deficient, she's from Angola, which is in the continent of Africa. Angola was a former Portuguese colony (that is why she spoke Portuguese, the official language of Angola and of course, Brazil). This makes her the FOURTH woman from an African country to win the Miss Universe title.

Final 2: Miss Ukraine Olesia Stefanko (1st Runner Up) and Miss Angola Leila Lopes (Miss Universe 2011)

The Top 5 were (L to R) Miss Brazil Priscila Machado, Miss China Luo Zilin, Miss Philippines Shamcey Supsup, Miss Ukrain Olesia Stefanko, and Miss Angola (foreground), Leila Lopes

Miss Universe 2011 Leila Lopes: Wearing a perfectly regal strapless gold, feathered and embroidered/applique' sequined gown with Princess-side slit; this gown was one of my favorites.

1st Runner Up Miss Ukraine Olesia Sefanko: Wearing a Empire-style white "Grecian Goddess" gown with gold and sequin under-bust and neckline trim detail. Also, on my "Top Miss Universe 2011 Evening Gowns" list. She is absolutely beautiful but I think it was this simple yet elegant dress that carried her all the way to the final two.

2nd Runner Up Miss Brazil Priscila Machado: Priscila wore a different gown than in the Preliminary Competition. I liked the canary yellow color in this gown; it really made her stand out amongst all the other finalists. This is a very "Pageant Betty 101" Gown--the one-shoulder, the side-cut-out's, the slit, the back shoulder drop/fall. I designed a gown just like this back in 1994 right after attending Fashion School. But...it worked here! She definitely made a statement and the judges liked it.

3rd Runner Up Miss Philippines Shamcey Supsup: Shamcey wore the same "transparent" sequined gown she wore in the Preliminaries. It was (I hate to be repetitious, but...) one of my FAVORITES from the "Transparent Trend" at the Preliminary Evening Gown Competition. She was so Mestiza and so pretty! She also reminded me of a gorgeous local weather anchor here in LA, Maria Quiban from MyFoxLA Good Day LA.

4th Runner Up Miss China Luo Zilin: Luo wore the same gown she wore in the Preliminary Competition as well, a fitted-torso but full from-the-hips-down red gown. She's six feet tall, so she carried it off very well!

Best Costume: There was really no "Official Miss Universe 2011 Costume Competition" where they gave out prizes, trophies, etc. However, it was announced during the Telecast, that an "expert panel" (maybe the Preliminary Judges?) did review the National Costumes and "chose" Miss Panama Sheldry Saez as the Best! Of course, being that I am half-Panamanian (mi Mami!), I was very happy!!! It was FAB-u-LOUS as you can see from the photo above.

Leila Lopes, the day after winning Miss Universe 2011, as she gets interviewed by Brazilian TV

Congratulations to the new Miss Universe, Leila Lopes and Congratulations to the country of Angola! This is, by the way, the FIRST time, that country has ever won a Miss Universe. Parabéns!!