Why These Are Our Top 5 Picks MGI 2020 National Costumes

 

From native animals, to floral motifs or representations of important temples, buildings and spots around the world, the costumes of the 8th "Miss Grand International" beauty pageant candidates paid tribute to exotic plants, animals and attractions of their countries. Here are our top five picks.

At number five is Miss Grand United States. Her costume looks plain and simple at first glance, but actually quite original and provocative. It may be drab, depressing and lacking in color, but even that is intentional and on purpose. It has connotations of colors by which racial groups are designated.  

The costume turns out to be laden with significance and carries a strong message. The black coat printed with the names of black victims of police brutality when taken off, reveals a white dress with the colors of the American flag. It is a brave statement reflecting America today. 

Miss Grand USA performed well entering with a sullen aura and finishing with a clenched fist in protest against racism. The story behind her costume must hold a personal connection to her as a woman of color. She holds a dual nationality representing the United States at the competition and previously represented Ghana at Miss Universe 2014 and Miss Earth 2019. 

Make way for Miss Grand Indonesia at number four. She made her appearance wearing a Chicken Satay themed costume.  The top of the head is decorated with iron sticks which looks like a skewer complete with elements that are shaped like chicken meat. She carried around her waist a charcoal grill spread with skewered chicken satay while frantically fanning the meat over the grill. 

The costume is unique and creative, telling a story about how delicious and famous this Indonesian dish is. Miss Grand Indonesia was doing fine with her presentation until midway through when things turned awry. She looked very awkward the moment she threw her hand-held cardboard fan, turned her back to the audience and about to make a surprise reveal. It was like she was standing with bowlegs and pulling something mysterious from between her legs. The hoped for surprise didn’t turn out well either with her winglike costume flapping back and falling forward. Looks like she seriously ran out of time to tell her full story.

At number three is Miss Grand Thailand. Her presentation makes you feel you are visiting and viewing a Thai floating market. While some countries in Asia have their own floating markets, none compare to Thailand’s. The floating markets in Bangkok are among the city's star attractions.   

Miss Grand Thailand’s costume captures the dreamlike experience, colors, chaos, flavors and atmosphere of a Thai floating market. Miss Grand Thailand sports a boat around her waist crammed with an abundance of food and goods as she slowly paddles and glides across the stage. There’s a shaky moment midway when turning her back and unveiling a huge fan but this was made up for as soon as she turned to face the audience again. The sunrise scene on the fan tells you of the early wakeup time needed to get there early enough to catch the sunrise for the ultimate experience. . 

Hola, Miss Grand Venezuela is second on our list. She is dressed in Venezuela’s flora and fauna. Her costume depicts Venezuela’s diverse wildlife. Venezuela as we know is host to a wealth of megadiverse flora and fauna. 

Flowers and foliage adorn the headdress of her costume and more surrounding her shoulders, among which we suppose is the national flower Cattleya. On both her shoulders stand two keel-billed toucans, amazing birds with huge rainbow-colored beaks that inhabit the forest of Central and South America. Her outfit is an iridescent green bodysuit that just about reminds us of the snakes and reptiles found in her country. Her performance was fashion runway beautiful, hot, bold and wild sexy as she slithers across the stage.

Topping our list is Miss Grand Guatemala. “Grand” is the way to describe her costume. 
Her imposing national costume was inspired by the emblematic Catholic church of San Andrés Xecul, in the city of Totonicapán.

The costume reflects the piety and joy of her people, and in every detail and fabric the colors, warmth and hope of Guatemala. Miss Grand Guatemala, paraded with elegance, smile and ease despite wearing a costume that required a lot of balance. Her performance on stage was impeccable.