A huge moment on the global (even universal) stage just happened for this Dubai designer…

On Sunday a new Miss Universe was crowned – France’s Iris Mittenaere walked away with the galactic crown, ending Filipina Pia Wurtzbach’s reign as the queen of the universe.

But our attention was on the royal blue gown Wurtzbach wore during her final moments as Miss Universe. Why are we talking about it? Well, it was a huge moment in the spotlight for a homegrown talent – the dress was designed by the very talented Michael Cinco, who set up his couture house in Dubai 19 years ago.

The real take-off for Cinco’s career was designing the go-big-or-go-home wedding dresses for the Gulf’s elite, and his work has since caught the attention of the globe.

We love seeing a Dubai resident make it big on the world stage, go Michael!

Michael is famous for his go-big-or-go-home creations that are super-embellished yet also somehow floaty. This is the man himself:

micchael-cinco

But this isn’t Michael’s only big moment, oh no, he’s also dressed Lady Gaga in the past…

As well as Carrie Underwood:

And that’s all just in the past few months (he also dressed Jennifer Lopez for the 2015 AMAs).

He’s also responsible for this – let’s be honest – phenomenal wedding dress worn by a bride in Russia…

And here’s a particularly-dreamy look from one of his recent catwalk shows (a veil that mimics a stained-glass window? We’ll always be into that).

So, got an extra dozen or so thousand dirhams lying around? No need to travel to Paris – this couture house’s headquarters are the Dubai Design District (you can read all about that here).

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