MISS UNIVERSE HAITI 2025: MELISA SAPINI
This November, my friend + sculptor Emma Knapp and I had the honor of working with Miss Haiti 2025, Melisa Sapini, to create a custom look for the Miss Universe 2025 Fashion Show in Pattaya, Thailand. We only had a week to create the look, with three of those days spent sourcing materials. Melisa's talented stylists, Bryan Alexis and Miguel Carlos, commissioned Emma and I to design a look for the Miss Universe Fashion show based on the design we had created for Savannah Miles' Miss USA interview.
Miss Universe Haiti walking in the 2025 Miss Universe Fashion Show
Ranked Best Look at Miss Universe Fashion Show & Gala by @pageantplanet
Miss Universe Haiti 2025, Melisa Sapini, wearing a custom look by Ava Polvino & Emma Knapp at the Miss Universe Fashion Show in Pattaya, Thailand
Inspired by the Haitian warriors who achieved the only successful slave revolt in history, defeating powerful colonial armies and inspiring anti-colonial and abolitionist movements worldwide. Their success in creating the independent nation of Haiti remains a powerful symbol of Black liberation and resistance against oppression.
Miss Haiti at the Miss Universe 2025 Gala in her custom look by Ava Polvino & Emma Knapp
Miss Haiti on the Miss Universe 2025 red carpet in her custom look
Miss Haiti 2025, Melisa Sapini, walking in the Miss Universe Fashion Show
Press photography and Look Rankings
Pre show facetime to ensure the sculpture is properly adhired