Miss Universe 2006
Chibana is known for her participation in Miss Universe 2006 where she represented Japan. She won the best national costume award for her samurai-themed outfit designed by the artist Yuichi Miyagawa and the designer Yoshiyuki Ogata, and later became the first runner-up for Miss Universe 2006. During the final, Chibana wore a black evening gown exhibiting intricate laticework designed by Olivier Theyskens for Rochas, and at the preliminaries, Chibana sported a unique red and pink-hued gown with silver corseting designed by Novespazio.
Her achievement was remarkable as Japan had not come that close to winning the crown since 1959, when Akiko Kojima won the first Miss Universe crown for Japan. During the pageant, held in Los Angeles, Chibana was the crowd favorite and her flirty winks drew an unusually enthusiastic response from the audience. Kurara Chibana's successor, Miss Universe Japan 2007, Riyo Mori won the Miss Universe 2007 title in Mexico City. She also managed to outdo the two Japanese women who managed to enter the semi-finals in most recent years: Miyako Miyazaki, fourth runner-up in 2003, and Mizuho Sakaguchi, 3rd runner-up in 1988.
Read more about this topic: Kurara Chibana
Famous quotes containing the word universe:
“The universe is then one, infinite, immobile.... It is not capable of comprehension and therefore is endless and limitless, and to that extent infinite and indeterminable, and consequently immobile.”
—Giordano Bruno (1548–1600)