Sparkling armor, sheathed sword, white flag decorated with a dove. The national costume of Ève Gilles, who defends the colors of France in the Miss Universe 2025 competition, caused a sensation.
Long associated with the far right, the image of Joan of Arc, heroine of the Hundred Years’ War, has freed itself from political exploitation, to the point of becoming, for some, the symbol of gender fluidity.
The choice of this daring outfit, created by Aymerick Zana, stylist of “Drag Race France”, contrasts with those of the other candidates for the crown. The election takes place during the night from Thursday to Friday in Pak Kret, near Bangkok, Thailand, and is broadcast on Paris Première from 2 a.m.
Why Joan of Arc?
“I chose this inspiring woman to represent my country to pay tribute to her and bring her story to life in our memories (…). In such a divided world, I wanted to embody this warrior committed to peace,” explained Ève Gilles on Instagram.
“Her legendary and courageous personality has inspired numerous literary, historical, musical, theatrical and cinematographic works in many countries,” explains the French candidate. This choice, she explains again, was reinforced by her on the island of Reunion, where her mother is from and where she went while she was thinking about this costume.
“It was the first time I noticed that the saint depicted in the town of Cilaos was in fact Joan of Arc. I saw it as a sign of destiny. From an idea, it became obvious,” she writes.
What image does the heroine convey today?
For Valérie Toureille, author of “Joan of Arc” (Ed. Perrin, 2020), the choice of such a costume to represent France is not so surprising. “Joan of Arc embodies the image of a strong, determined, fighting woman,” notes the historian. At the time of the Hundred Years’ War, when the kingdom was occupied by the English, she helped to reconquer part of it, had the king crowned and participated in the construction of the first patriotic feeling (…). For a long time, it was monopolized by the extreme right, but that is over. Joan of Arc has freed herself from her very political image, even if she still exists,” insists Valérie Toureille.
And the latter adds: “It is not a univocal figure. She is a saint for Catholics. For lovers of France, she is a figure of resistance in the face of the adversary. For feminists, she is an effigy. For the LGBTQIA+ movements, it is also an image of the transversality of gender. »
What is the importance of Joan of Arc abroad?
Played by Milla Jovovich in Luc Besson’s film released in 1999, already popularized by the song “Joan of Arc”, taken from Leonard Cohen’s third album, “Songs of love and hate” (1971), the one nicknamed La Pucelle is far from being unknown internationally.
“From the end of the 19th century, the English chose her as a militant figure of feminism, along with the suffragettes,” underlines Valérie Toureille. Three years ago, the play I, Joangiven at Shakespeare’s Globe theater in London, made Joan of Arc a non-binary icon.
The historian also notes that “the Japanese are passionate about a completely false romance between Joan of Arc and Gilles de Rais, in other words between the saint and the devil”.
Who is the designer of the dress?
Aymerick Zana is a regular at the “Drag Race France” competitions, a France 2 show for which he accompanied some of the biggest stars. Followed by just over 12,000 people on Instagram, the man who dressed Paloma and Nicky Doll defines his style as “graphic, minimalist but excessive”.
His popularity skyrocketed after creating an incredible pigeon costume for Kam Hugh. His craziest piece?
« Paloma’s crown presentation outfit for season 2, totally inspired by the Lilac Fairy, in the film by Jacques Demy Donkey skin (…) insane amount of fabrics and rhinestones,” he confided recently.
A stylist for almost 20 years, working for Claudie Pierlot and Eleven Paris, the couturier recently opened his own workshop, in which he creates tailor-made pieces for different artists.
Does Ève Gilles have a chance of winning with such a strong costume?
Will the candidate succeed the Danish Victoria Djær Theilvig, thus becoming the third French woman to be crowned Miss Universe, after Iris Mittenaere in 2016 and Christiane Martel in 1953?
Impossible to say at the moment. In front of her, the contenders opted for costumes full of feathers and sequins, some more unusual than others. Among the most prominent, Miss USA opted for a golden eagle mask, symbol of “freedom, resilience and unity”.
The curious also saw a wolf’s head, bee wings and even a teapot parade. If the French beauty queen is not a favorite, the least we can say is that with 2.1 million views on Instagram, the national costume chosen by Ève Gilles does not leave anyone indifferent.
Liked by more than 125,000 people, her outfit won over Internet users: “Eve modernizes and embodies this heroine”, “super daring”, “magnificent”, they applaud under the video.