Miss Universe Philippines 2023 Michelle Dee's 'snake walk' a tribute to mother Melanie Marquez
MANILA, Philippines — The pageant walk of newly-crowned Miss Universe Philippines 2023 Michelle Dee, which fans have coined as the "snake walk," is a subtle nod to the beauty queen's own mother Melanie Marquez.
Melanie is a beauty queen in her own right, having won Miss International back in 1979. Her daughter, Michelle, followed in her footsteps as she reached the Top 12 of Miss World 2019 and was Miss Universe Philippines Tourism 2022 before her new title this year.
During the evening gown portion of the Miss Universe Philippines 2023 competition last May 13, Michelle wore a black one-strap, high-slit dress by Mark Bumgarner. The sleek gown won her a second Best in Evening Gown award.
The day after the event, Michelle's pageant coach of two years, Ian Mendajar, noted that the walk was inspired by Melanie's own "S Walk" from Miss International 1979.
"The 'S' walk after her second establishment is one of Melanie's signature walks during her modeling days while her final pose is inspired by her mom's supermodel poses," Ian said on Instagram.
Ian also shared that Michelle's "snake walk" incorporated her recent television roles — Serpenta from "Agimat ng Agila" and Freya from "Mga Lihim ni Urduja" — to allow Michelle's personality and presence to shine.
Michelle confirmed on the nightly newscast "24 Oras" that her mother was the inspiration for her walk as she had always been in other aspects of her life.
"It was such an amazing feeling na nakanood siya. I didn't know if [she could]," Michelle said, noting that Melanie was not present at her coronation last year at the Miss Universe Philippines tilt. "I really wanted to do something special... You'll see a lot of me, but a lot of Melanie Marquez as well."
The beauty queen-actress also shared that the first thing her mother told her after the crowning moment was that she was so proud of her daughter and that she shined the brightest that night.
"Grabe, I'm doing this for her and I wanted this to be the best Mother's Day gift that I could give her," Michelle said, adding that Melanie whispered to her, "Anak, I'm so proud of you. You did it."
Michelle succeeded Celeste Cortesi as Miss Universe Philippines 2023. She hopes to bring the Philippines back to the semifinal rounds and, hopefully further, at the 2023 edition of Miss Universe in El Salvador later this year.
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