Celeste Cortesi wearing her Miss Universe 2022 finals gown

Celeste Cortesi wasn’t able to properly showcase her finals evening gown at the Miss Universe 2022 on Saturday night, January 14, 2023 (January 15, PH time).

The 25-year-old Filipino-Italian beauty queen bowed out early in the competition after she failed to land a spot in the pageant’s top 16.

Hours before the pageant started, images and videos of Celeste wearing her finals evening gown—a mermaid gown with a plunging neckline—have already started circulating on social media.

The photos and videos were taken during the final dress rehearsal, where candidates were asked to wear the gowns they would use for the evening gown segment of the pageant.

The gown was also made by Los Angeles-based Filipino fashion designer Oliver Tolentino.

Just like her prelims gown, Celeste had the same inspiration for the finals evening gown.

She donned her signature color—blue—which represents “Celeste,” the name her father picked for her which means “heavenly” in Italian.

It also featured embroidery details in butterfly patterns as her tribute to her late father.

Each crystal that was placed in her gown was hand sewn.

During the grand coronation night, Celeste still held her head high and sashayed on stage wearing the gown after the top 16 exclusion.

This moment was captured by U.S.-based Filipino makeup artist Jan Quijano, which he shared on his Instagram account.

In another angle uploaded by pageant fan site Sash Factor, Celeste waved and threw finger hearts to her fans. But walking towards the end of the stage, she looked like she was trying hard to compose herself and not be emotional on stage.

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