Beauty queens turn activists at Miss Universe's National Costume Show

Historically, the national costume segment of the Miss Universe competition has encompassed a bizarre range of walking human floats and on the nose puns from the presenters — and this year's, which took place in the US on Thursday, was no exception.

However, perhaps because of the heightened social and political circumstances in which we — universally — find ourselves, some of the participating country's representative’s costumes made interesting and provocative statements, showing once again how fashion can operate as a conduit for protest and self-expression.

For instance, Miss Universe Singapore Bernadette Belle Ong wore a (relatively simple, by pageant standards) red-and-white caped ensemble, with the cape itself reading “Stop Asian Hate.”

Given the outbreak of targeted attacks on Asian individuals since the Covid-19 pandemic took hold, this costume constituted a powerful reminder to support vulnerable Asian minorities and celebrate diversity, while also embodying a facet of Singaporean culture in terms of its colour palette, which mirrors that of the country's flag.

Likewise, Miss Universe Canada Nova Stevens donned the metallic livery of a futuristic superhero, in a bid to express her commitment to racial equality, and the “strength and resistance” such activism mandates.