Former beauty queen Samantha Bernardo is excited to wear a Ditta Sandico gown at the upcoming ABS-CBN Ball on April 4.

In an exclusive interview with PUSH ABS-CBN, Samantha, who previously represented the Philippines in the Miss Grand International pageant, shared her excitement about attending the prestigious event and wearing a gown by a talented local designer

“This is my second time attending ABS-CBN ball. I’m so excited. Siguro what’s different last year is mas maraming artists yung pupunta, kaya yung paghahanda na ginawa ko is more of the gown that I will represent in the red carpet,” Samantha shared.

Samantha’s gown holds special meaning, as it celebrates Ditta Sandico’s 40th anniversary in the fashion industry.

“I chose Miss Ditta Sandico, she’s celebrating 40 years in the industry and I wanna highlight this kind of talent in the red carpet. Kaya naman abangan ang aking pasabog wearing abaca or banaca by Ditta Sandico,” she expressed.

Her gown, which will feature a “water-inspired” design, is a reflection of Ditta Sandico’s signature style.

“Kung makikita niyo yung aesthetic ni Miss Ditta Sandico, it’s very wavy, and since yung theme natin this edition, mas nagustuhan naming na hindi natin pupuntahan yung flowery, but more of the water and really the (theme) that gives life to the flowers,” Samantha explained.

Ditta’s junior designer, Janinna Santos, also expressed excitement about styling Samantha. 

“We’re super, super excited because we love having her as our model, she really carries Ditta so well. For her outfit, abangan siya as she gave a sneak peek, it’s gonna be wavy. Our inspiration for this is kind of like the (theme), it’s kind of like water,” she said.

She added, “It’s gonna be Ditta signature, and it will be using our signature banaca fiber which holds its own structure, which is very, very, unique and different from all other fabrics. It’s locally harvested and also near to our hearts because we support communities who hand weaved these banaca fabrics.”

Samantha also emphasized how the design is all handmade in the Philippines and a way to celebrate the designer's milestone in the fashion industry.

Samantha's look for ABS-CBN Ball is a collaborative effort between her, Ditta, and the creative team, as per Janinna.

“It’s really a collaborative effort among a team. It puts together all of her ideas, and what we’ve envisioned really Sam is because she’s really elegant and she’s very sophisticated and the way she moves, it’s like water, it’s very fluid, it’s very flowy, exactly elegant. And that’s what we had in mind when we were designing this,” she elaborated.

Aside from her much-anticipated look, Samantha also values the stars getting together for a good cause.

“Sobrang nakakatuwa kasis as a beauty queen, ito rin yung inspiration na binibigay natin sa lahat and as you know I’m also supporting Malaria Free Philippines by 2030 kase isa na lang ang mayroong Malaria sa buong Pilipinas and that is my hometown Palawan. So yung mga ganitong event yung nagbibigay light talaga and platform sa lahat ng artists and also yung mga tinutulungan nating beneficiaries kaya nakakataba ng puso,” she stated.