Jojo Bragais sponsored the Miss Universe 2023 pageant on Saturday held in San Salvador, El Salvador. With Miss Nicaragua Sheynnis Palacios crowned the winner, it’s time to do a deep-dive on the Filipino designer behind the contestants’ shoes.
Bragais began his career as a nurse but had an affinity for creativity. The designer ventured into the footwear market as a hobby and the rest is history. Bragais’ namesake brand is best known for its pageant shoes that combine style, power and comfort.
After honing in on his talents for footwear making in 2013, Bragais lent his designs to friends who competed in beauty pageants. Soon, organizations became familiar with his work.
Since then, the footwear designer has gone on to sponsor many Miss Universe pageants. Bragais’ pageant footwear is made to make contestants look taller without sacrificing comfort, combining form and function seamlessly.
A majority of the pageant styles come equipped with 5-inch stilettos. Each style is crafted of durable leather uppers, patent or matte finishes, and often strappy closures that offer the silhouette more dimension. Style names include “Megan,” “Pia,” “Kylie,” “Maxine,” “Rachel” and “Kevin 2.0” among others.
The footwear brand stocks a wide range of styles for both men and women. Jojo Bragais features a variety of pagent-ready neutral platform sandals along with embellished slippers, versatile pumps and men’s “Mandiators” sandals among other styles. The brand includes lipstick and belts.
Miss Universe is a pageant held annually by the Miss Universe Organization, which celebrates women’s accomplishments across the world. This year’s event will be held in El Salvador, featuring 86 contestants from international countries. The occasion includes John Legend as this year’s musical performance, which will take place before the current Miss Universe R’Bonney Gabriel crowns her successor.
Amina Ayoud is an Assistant Digital Editor for Footwear News, where she writes stories about everything from celebrity style to breaking fashion and shoe releases. Ayoud cultivated a love of all things fashion early in life thanks to a deep love of fashion history and the luxury industry. In her free time, Ayoud is a self-proclaimed fashion nerd and thriftaholic.
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