The evening belonged to working girls
In the last leg of the Miss Working Girl 2015 pageant held at the Hotel Galadari in Colombo last Wednesday, 12 elegant young ladies took to the runway in a show of talent, beauty and brains.
Miss Working Girl 2014 Mandeera Saverimutto crowns the new Miss Working Girl Stephanie Kinson
Organised by the Lions Club of Thimbirigasyaya District 306 C2, the Miss Working Girl Pageant is a stepping stone for young working women to rise to fame and explore various avenues connected to the field. Held for the 19th successive year, this year’s Miss Working Girl pageant was a fundraiser of the Lions Club where proceeds were directed to the Punarjeewa Heart Fund & Chuo Maithree pre-school.
As a vibrant opening dance by the Channa and Upuli Dance troupe set the perfect mood for the evening, 12 finalists made their maiden appearance in office wear outfits designed by Lou Chin Wong. The 12 finalists – Dulani Nanayakkara (27), Shialin Samuel (19), Udarai Dhanapala (19), Pradeepa Seneviratne (24), Anusha Maduwanthi(24), Razeena Mannan (23), Chathu Kaushalya (22), Samadi Perera (22), Stephanie Kinson (22), Thilini Chathurani (24), Akushla Umayangani (22) and Aishwini Ragwan (19) did their first walk on stage and then introduced themselves to the audience speaking about their background, passions, dreams and
The top three: ( from left) Second runner-up Aishwini Ragwan, the winner Stephanie Kinson and First runner-up Shialin Samuel
Miss Working Girl 2014 Mandeera Saverimutto on the ramp for the final time
aspirations.
Next came an important moment eagerly awaited by the contestants- the announcement of the mini titles. Eight mini titles were given away accompanied by a host of valuable gifts. Stephanie Kinson emerged triumphant bagging four mini titles – Best Skin, Best Runway Model, Best Figure and Miss Personality giving the audience a clue of what was to come. Aishwini Ragwan was sashed as the winner of the Beautiful Hair title and Samadi Perera won the Beautiful Smile title. Miss Photogenic went to Anusha Maduwanthi while Thilini Chathurani emerged as the winner of the Miss Congeniality award.
The Evening Dress Parade segment saw all finalists taking the ramp in sequined lace mixed dresses of dull gold, the glamorous creations by Michael Wijeysuriya adding shades of sophistication.
Tension was gradually building up, and then it was time for the top eight to be announced. Stephanie, Shialin, Anusha, Aishwini, Samadi, Razeena, Akushla and Udari were the judges’ pick and acquitted themselves remarkably well in answering the questions posed to them by the judges.
Miss Working Girl 2014,Mandeera Saverimutto was then ushered on stage signalling the most anticipated moment of the pageant. As the audience waited in tense silence, the compere announced the names of the runners- up- Aishwini Ragwan as second runner-up and Shialin Samuel as first runner-up. Amidst cheers and applause they both took their places on stage leaving a small slot in the middle for the vivacious young winner, 22-year-old Stephanie Kinson, to be crowned as Miss Working Girl 2015.
The judges: Intent on picking a winner