Miss Universe fever is definitely on as the 69th edition of the grand international beauty pageant kicked off its official competition by unveiling the beauty queens' national costumes on Friday, May 14.
A total of 74 candidates are vying for the most-coveted crown this year and all of them are eager to make their respective countries proud.
The Philippines' bet, 24-year-old Rabiya Mateo, confidently glided across the Miss Universe stage wearing her Philippine flag-inspired costume. She donned red and blue wings and three stars to represent the colors and symbols of the country's flag.
Although she trended on Twitter as the public gushed over her stellar performance, some pageant fans expressed their dismay over her “incomplete” outfit, questioning why she did not wear the headpiece that is supposed to top off her look.
Miss Universe Philippines National Director Shamcey Supsup explained that they decided to exclude the sun headpiece as it always falls off her head.
Meanwhile, while we celebrate different cultures worldwide, let us look first at the national costumes of the 2020 Filipina beauty queens, which were showcased in the international pageants that pushed through amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Rabiya Mateo is currently eyeing the fifth Miss Universe crown for the country.
The beauty queen's national costume is inspired by the Philippine flag --with the blue color representing royalty, red stands for the courage and strength of an independent woman, and yellow, for the color of the sun and stars, symbolizes hope and freedom to choose whoever you want to be.
Samantha Bernardo finished as the first runner-up in the 2020 Miss Grand International pageant in Thailand last March 27.
She donned a gold costume that represents the country's national bird - the Philippine Eagle. According to Samantha, “this costume also intends to create awareness because the Philippine Eagle is critically endangered, mainly due to massive loss of habitat resulting from deforestation in most of its range."
Kapuso star Kelley Day was named 1st runner-up in the Miss Eco International 2020 pageant held in Egypt last April 14.
Kelley bagged the “Best National Costume” award as she wowed the judges with her modern Filipiniana terno. The award-winning gown was designed by Filipino designer Louis Pangilinan.
Roxanne Baeyens clinched the Miss Earth Water title in Miss Earth 2020's first-ever virtual beauty pageant.
In the competition, Roxanne wore an ensemble inspired by the Philippines's folktale “Si Malakas at si Maganda.”
Rowena Lucero Sasuluya won 4th runner-up at the Miss Globe 2020 beauty pageant held in Albania last November.
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Rowena wore an intricate and colorful ensemble which is inspired by an abstract version of a butterfly.