Plastic is Fantastic! In the world of Miss Unibarse being plastic is celebrated.
Synthetic, anatomically incomplete and emotionless dolls are transformed into lively, beautiful and entertaining pageant candidates. Behind the scenes of this online pageant world are the creative geniuses Francis and Glen of F & G Photography and Tiara Productions. Near the end of judging the pageant, I decided to visit their studios right outside of Los Angeles, California. With my strawberry scented pen and pad on hand, I sat down with Francis to get the scoop on the pageant.
Asia: How did Miss Unibarse start? Where did the idea come from?
Francis: Miss Unibarse started by watching too many pageants throughout the years and Americas Next Top Model! I love the glam and 'nationalistic' aspect of pageants while Glen, my partner enjoyed the beautiful 'transformations' these amateur-models-wannabes had to go through week after week in the show. Since we didn't have the dispensable funds to pay models to 'experiment' on, we went for the next best thing... dolls! We headed out to the nearest "Big Lots" store in West LA and bought a couple of $3.99 Barbie dolls. We 'transformed' two dolls; one looked like an Asian version of Nicole Kidman and the other a Zhaka Zulu Princess. We photographed them and asked my aunt to judge the two, she ended up picking the wrong doll (Nicole Kidman) so, that inspired and fueled me to beat my partner to become the world's top doll make over artist... too dramatic, you can edit if you want but that's how it got started.
A: That's just the right amount of drama to have an award-winning interview. So why did you decide to do the online pageant?
F: From two dolls, the numbers kept growing until half of our living room was filled with dolls, 40 in all; it's a very small living room. I remember asking my partner, 'what the hell are we gonna do with all these?'. That was when we incorporated the 'pageant' aspect into Miss Unibarse. We weren't just thinking America's Next Top Doll Model, we were thinking 'global'. We decided to do it since it looked like a lot of fun. My partner has a background in photography, graphics and web development while I have training in fashion and costume design. We wanted a project that will mesh all our knowledge together and that's how we came up with Miss Unibarse.
A: I saw other online doll pageants and I have to commend you both on this great fusion of talents. In the first year, as far as putting it together, what happened?
F: It was very exciting; we 'ransacked' every toy, bargain 99-cent stores in town as far as Las Vegas to find the most 'unique' looking dolls. There was a lot of trial and error in terms of the photography techniques, how to curl synthetic hair, gown construction, make up application, 'authenticity' of costumes blah, blah, blah...
A: And what was the highlight of the first year?
F: There were many highlights during the first year, Namibia winning, Venezuela topping Namibia, I mean, the evening gowns. Two judges were kicked out of the panel due to their 'uncivilized' comments. There were definitely plenty of highlights but the most important highlight is discovering how competitive, bitchy and creative we were as an individuals and how our 'talents' compliment each others making us stronger as a team. Also discovering that we all have a 'kid' in all of us that needs to be nurtured even as adults.
A: Usually in televised pageants, there's a portion of "what happened to the winner". What happened to the first Miss Unibarse?
F: The eventual winner was plucked from her grass shack in Namibia and was housed in a glass cabinet, from IKEA, for 1 year. She also signed an exclusive modeling contract from F&G Photography and Modeling Agency. She is now the 'face and official spokesperson for 'Back Cover' Girl (Makeup), Drummel Drill Bits (Plastic Surgery) and Prisma (Hair Color).
A: Tell us how is the Miss Unibarse 2006 pageant better than 2005?
F: They are both great pageants but what makes 2006 better than 2005 is that we have opened our 'project' to the whole world. Now little girls, little gay boys and gay men from the Philippines can check out the pageant as it unfolds. This year we included an international group of doll and pageant aficionados to judge and select the winner. We have also given 'voice' and the ability to 'chose' the winner to the members of the World Wide Web.It is a more global approach rather than local. We wanted to share our passion to the world and create a global community where we can share the same interests.
A: The pageant is almost done for this year... what's your favorite moment so far? (In the pageant itself, "backstage" or behind the scenes, and international feedback...)
F: Our favorite moment thus far is having 4 Asians in the top 5. It is rare to see this in the world of pageants and we are excited to have a great representation of our Asian culture and heritage... not that we look like the dolls or anything. Another favorite moment is having 'sponsors'. We were approached by many individuals asking to sponsors of the pageant. The global feedback has been great. Even though we have your occasional 'haters' but the majority of the feedback is very supportive and encouraging that we plan to open the 2007 competition to other doll pageant directors from every corner of the Unibarse.
A: TGLife caters to an international transgender online community... what would you, the producers, like to say to them?
F: The producers would like to say 'thank you for all your support', 'keep moving forward' and 'live the life you have imagined'.
A: How about last year's winner? What would she say to them?
F: Last year's winner would probably say in 'Tenku pu Ayu Meka-nuka-uka-lu', 'Kepukulu eka Pulu' and 'Tongu-Keku Imaginu'. English translation: 'thank you for all your support', 'keep moving forward' and 'live the life you have imagined'
A: Thank you so much for indulging us! We look forward to the reign of the next winner.
Visit their website at www.missunibarse.com and www.missunibarse.com/fandg
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