CHLOE MAGAZINE
It’s early, and I find myself in a hotel lobby in
downtown Toronto. It’s already an early morning
for Kira Kazantsev, or Miss America as she is more
formally known, having already been up for several
hours for CTV and BT. She is, in fact, in a new
North American city every 48 hours. “It’s a lot of
work,” she says, but she enjoys it, and she eagerly
high-lights her duties in a manner that is sincere and
genuine, but undoubtably rehearsed; I’m sure as I sit
and listen to her describe her ever-present need to be
camera-ready at a moments notice, that she has told
countless other people the same thing.
Partnering with Canadian designer Joseph Ribkoff,
she wears a dress from his ready-to-wear collection,
and lauds the clothes’ travel-ready fabric and
fashion-forward, classic looks. Joseph Ribkoff is an
international brand, not unlike Miss America herself.
She also upholds her platform “Love Shouldn’t
Hurt,” which addresses domestic violence against
women. The Miss America competition first began
in 1921 in Atlantic City and remains a television
event on par with the Superbowl. Miss America has
been on the air since 1964, and still focuses a lot of
the energy of American culture. “It’s a dream,” says
Kazantsev, whose family are Russian immigrants.
“For a first generation American to be able to
become Miss America, it’s absolutely fantastic.”