What the Twitter fashion police think of Miss Universe SA's national costume

And the designer of Miss Universe SA Natasha Joubert’s national costume is ... Gert-Johan Coetzee!

Of all the outfits beauty queens wear as they vie for the Miss Universe crown, the gowns intended to represent their homelands are the most hotly contested. These looks tend to be flamboyant, fabulous and sometimes just plain strange.

For this year’s pageant, Joubert will represent Mzansi in a beaded white gown with an ethereal edge. It has wing-like sleeves that flutter into a long train covered in drawings by Gauteng preschoolers, which depict how their lives have changed during the Covid-19 pandemic. (Read more about the design here.)

Coetzee’s dramatic outfits are a fave with local celebs — he’s dressed everyone from Bonang Matheba to Somizi Mhlongo. But did the national costume he's created find favour with the notoriously tough crowd on Twitter?

Here’s what the social media fashion police had to say:

• The Miss Universe pageant will take place in Florida in the US on May 16 (02h00 to 05h00 on May 17 SA time). The reigning Miss Universe, SA’s Zozibini Tunzi, will be in attendance to crown her successor.