R’Bonney Gabriel, Miss Universe 2022 (Source: rbonneynola)
Photo : ET Now Digital
R’Bonney succeeds India’s Harnaaz Sandhu, who bagged the top spot at the pageant. Women from 84 countries participated in the event. Indian contestant Divita Rai made it to the top 16 but did not make the cut.
As a high-school volleyball player who pivoted to fashion, she quickly fell in love with constructing designs with fabrics and textiles at the young age of 15. At the University of North Texas, she earned a Bachelor’s degree in Fashion Design with a Minor in Fibers in 2018. She is currently CEO of her own sustainable clothing line, R’Bonney Nola.
R’Bonney is the lead sewing instructor at Magpies & Peacocks, a Houston-based non-profit design house that is dedicated to using “Fashion As A Force For Good” through sustainability and community impact. As a “Gucci Changemakers” recipient, they were honoured for their work of diverting unwanted textiles and fabrics from landfills and turning them into fashion collections.
As the first Filipino-American to win Miss USA, she shares the importance of embracing your culture. As a voice for Asian-Americans, she opens the door for more diversity and representation in society and was honoured to be published in Vogue Philippines. R’Bonney’s mission is for women and young girls to see themselves in her, and feel inspired to conquer their goals by owning who they are, according to Miss Universe website.
In a final question, she was asked “If you win Miss Universe, how will you work to demonstrate this is an empowering and progressive organization?” and she replied, “Well, I would use it to be a transformational leader. As a very passionate designer, (having) been sewing for 13 years, I use fashion as a force for good. In my industry, I’m cutting down on pollution through recycled materials when I make my clothing. I teach sewing classes to women that have survived from human trafficking and domestic violence. And I say that because it is so important to invest in others, invest in our community, and use your unique talent to make a difference. We all have something special, and when we plant those seeds (in) other people in our life, we transform them, and we use that as a vehicle for change.”
IMG, an events, media, sports and fashion company, sold The Miss Universe Organization (MUO), the global organization overseeing the annual MISS UNIVERSE competition, to Thailand-based JKN Global Media Public Company Limited in 2022.
