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20-year-old Eve Gilles from Nord-pas-de-Calais was crowned Miss France while rocking a pixie cut.
The French beauty pageant has been actively working to increase diversity in recent years. Online, critics condemned the results as “awaken civilization“
For the first time in the 100-year history of France’s top beauty pageants, Miss France has short hair.
Eve Gilles, 20, who won the competition at the weekend wearing a pixie cut, hailed the achievement as “victory for diversity“.
“We are used to seeing beautiful misses with long hair, but I went for an androgynous look with short hair,β she said. βNo one should dictate who you areβ¦ every woman is different, we are all unique.β
There were plenty of people celebrating the selection of the winner online, pointing out that Ms Gilles follows in a rich tradition of short-haired French fashion, from Mistinguett to Coco Chanel.
The Miss Universe organization showed its support for Eve while also shedding light on how contestants want to stay true to themselves.
“There is no way to become Miss Universe or Miss France, and we embrace every look that comes to our stage,,β a representative for Miss Universe said in a statement to People. “We represent the times and being confident in your unique self is the one thing we see reflected in all our winners.β
Alexia Laroche-Joubert, CEO of Banijay France, which owns the Miss France brand, defended the pageant as a symbol of “success” and one “social elevator” for contestants who later became “businessmen, doctors or directors.β
The competition criteria were βmodernized,β she said, given that there is no longer an age limit for participants, who can now also be married or transgender.