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Bongani Ndlovu, Showbiz Correspondent
A dress worth R98,000 has been put together for Miss World representative, Annie Grace Mutambu who will be leaving the country for China tomorrow.

The beauty Queen is expected to fly out tomorrow morning aboard Ethiopian Airways to the city of Sanya for a month-long boot camp which starts on Saturday.

She will join 118 other hopefuls for the 65th edition of Miss World ahead of the finale being held at the Beauty Crown Grand Theatre in Sanya on December 19. Outgoing Miss World, Rolene Straus will crown her successor.

Mutambu’s dress which she will wear for evening wear, was tailored by South Africa-based designer – Spero Villioti who dressed the Miss World Zimbabwe contestants this year. It has since been delivered to Mutambu though the Miss Zimbabwe Trust refused to describe it as they feared that other contestants would imitate their concept and design.

Miss Zimbabwe Trust spokesperson, Tendai Chirau, said Zimbabweans would have to be patient as they will only see the dress when the Queen takes to the world ramp.

“I can’t reveal the details of the dress because someone will know how it is and tweak theirs to beat ours. People will see the dress on the day of the pageant. All I can say is that it’s beautiful,” said Chirau.

Miss South Africa, Leisl Laurie however made her dress public when she showcased it to a selected few on Tuesday. The R100,000 garment designed by Casper Bosman was made from copper, gold and leather. It is said to represent South Africa’s mineral resources.

Chirau said Mutambu would do her best at the world pageant which has never been won by a Zimbabwean. A few including Malaika Mushandu and Angeline Musasiwa have made it to the Top 10.

For the Beauty with a Purpose category, the 19-year-old Queen will present video footage of the plight of albinos.

“The Beauty with a Purpose Project is an eight-minute video which was edited by Donald Mabido, a local film producer whom we hired. The project will show the queen donating spectacles and sunscreen to albinos as well as money for their upkeep,” said Chirau.

Following a series of dethronements, most Zimbabweans seem to have lost interest in local pageantry especially Miss Zimbabwe which has seen over five Queens being replaced. As a result, last year’s Miss World representative, Tendai Hunda had under one week to prepare for the contest and therefore performed dismally. This year, the Miss Zimbabwe Trust believes Mutambu who replaced Emily Kachote had ample time to prepare and will likely impress.

“Zimbabweans should be rest assured that our Queen is going there well prepared to represent the country at the world competition. She had adequate time to prepare unlike previous Queens,” said Chirau.