London Eye Casts its Eye on Miss SA
on October 20, 2011Miss South Africa, Bokang Montjane will represent South Africa at the 61st celebration of Miss World at Earls Court in London on Sunday 6 November 2011. Kiki Haakanson from Sweden was crowned the first Miss World on Sunday 29 July 1951 when only 26 aspirant contestants took part in the first ever Miss World contest. This year there are a record number of entries, with 120 nations competing for the most coveted crown.
Bokang departs on 19 October for nearly 3 weeks of activities and sightseeing in London. She will leave armed with the knowledge that on the night, she will look fantastic – a true African beauty. Designer to the stars, JJ Schoeman has designed Bokang’s evening gown. The rich ivory colour of the gown perfectly accentuates her golden skin tone and the body hugging bodice emphasises her beautiful long neck and shoulders.
“Bokang is very feminine and the textured lace ruffles of the skirt enhance her femininity. The gown is a show stopper,” says JJ Schoeman and Schoeman certainly knows what he’s talking about as he has designed gowns for beauty queens for 7 years, and he was also a Miss World Judge in 2009, Miss SA Regional Judge in 2010 and judge of the Pride of India in 2010.
The skirt part of the dress has multiple layers of pure silk chiffon and the intricate draped bodice is hand-beaded which will brilliantly capture the stage lights and make Bokang sparkle. “The dress is the epitome of glamour – it makes a powerful statement,” says Bokang, “I love it!”
Known and respected for his ability to create sophisticated and glamorous gowns fusing traditional and euro-centric fashion styling, Schoeman has showed his collection twice in New York at the International Couture Fashion Week in addition to a special viewing at the Waldorf Hotel on 5th Avenue.
His personal attention, craftsmanship, professionalism and above all, his care have made him a popular choice with fashionistas. Grooms, brides, their retinue as well as teenagers dreaming of the perfect dress for their matric farewell have flocked to Schoeman’s design studio.
Bokang will take with
her a national gift, a wooden sculpture of a woman. The sculpture is also adorned with beads – very symbolic of South Africa’s traditional artefacts.
The 61st anniversary of Miss World features new and exciting changes. Four dedicated camera teams will be living with the contestants at their five star hotel capturing exclusive round-the-clock coverage on television and the internet. The pre-judging process will be shown live on the internet as the panel of industry professionals get to know each of the contestants and award their marks. The pre-judging marks will be revealed on a giant World Scoreboard during the live final at Earls Court, before the final judging panel reveal their own personal favourites and give their scores.
