Meet Jojo Bragais, The Filipino Shoe Designer Who Made The Official Shoes Of This Year’s Miss Universe

For Jojo Bragais, designing the official pageant heels for the 69th Miss Universe is more than just having his name up on a pedestal in the international pageant arena. "To be able to walk with a beauty queen, carry the weight of her dreams, and uplift her with my design is already such a huge honor to me and my team," says Jojo. The Filipino footwear designer himself felt extremely humbled to have been given the opportunity to represent the country and uplift the dying art of traditional shoemaking through his Marikina-made heels. In a meet-and-greet with Jojo, he explained in great detail his growth story, his inspiration, and the story behind the revolutionary Jehza heels. 

As a licensed nurse and midwife turned designer, Jojo is no stranger to sharing his growth story with his clients. For over 8 years in the shoemaking industry, he has been part of many life-changing pageant experiences including the successes of renowned beauty queens Pia Wurtzbach and Catriona Gray, among many others. Apart from his well-known clientele, Jojo is also thankful for the extraordinary people he met through designing bespoke shoes for weddings and debuts. In fact, during his early years as a designer, Jojo fondly remembers the time when he had a client who needed a pair of shoes specifically made for deformed feet. After receiving the pair of shoes, the client (the mom) hugged and thanked Jojo for creating a pair of shoes that fit her daughter's feet perfectly. Jojo made this heart-touching moment his life's work. Fast forward to now, we couldn't be more proud to see his design become part of 70+ growth stories in the making at the 69th Miss Universe.

To learn more about the celebrated Miss Universe shoes by Jojo Bragais, read the 10 facts we have for you down below:

1. The official 69th Miss Universe heels is named after Jojo's friend and former beauty queen Jehza Huelar-Simon. "Jehza is actually a longtime friend of mine and her dream is to have a designer name a piece of their collection after her. The Jehza heels is named after her because she left a mark in my life for being so kindhearted and passionate when it comes to pageantry, it's only fitting to have this pair named after her," says Jojo.

2. The Jehza heels is Jojo's first non-platform pageant shoes.

3. In terms of design, the Jehza heels boasts a contemporary square toe, a thick vamp, and a 4-inch heel.

4. In terms of materials, the lining of the heels are fully made out of fabric while the uppers are made out of foam for maximum comfortability.

5. Jojo and his team uses a special carpentry technique that no other shoemaking machine can do! This makes his designs more comfortable to wear than the usual factory-made ones. 

6. In the meet-and-greet with Jojo, he shares that he often tries his own samples and lets other beauty queens test out the shoes to give way for adjustments!

7. For the 69th Miss Universe, Jojo designed three nude heels in Cream, Caramel, and Cocoa for the preliminary competition and a Silver pair for the swimsuit competition of the pageant. Each candidate will receive two pairs, a nude pair of heels that will match their skin tone and a silver pair.

8. The nude selection of the official Miss Universe heels are specifically combined with special yellow and red undertones to compliment the skin tone of the wearer while still making it standout in stage lighting.

9. There are over 300 pairs sent to Hollywood, Florida, United States for the Miss Universe pageant on May 17, 2021 (GMT+8).

10. You can already shop the original design and color way of the Jehza heels for yourself in time for the pageant. Just head to their website and select from sizes 35 to 41, see you on May 17 with your own Jojo Bragais pair!

Photo Courtesy of Jojo Bragais